Mario Story: World in Shade
by LukerGamerz
Summary: (CANCELLED - Bonus chapter as tribute for fans.) The Mushroom Kingdom has fulfilled many prophecies in the past, but none were quite this monstrous. Now, Mario must face enemies both new and old in order to save the kingdom from utter destruction, as well as his companions from their own inner demons.
1. A Celebration in Shambles

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE-** _click._

Mario stretched his arms. His body and mind wrestled as he slowly crawled out of his incredibly comfortable bed. He practically fell down the stairway as he slowly moved towards the kitchen, the scent of food driving him forward. The night before, a rain storm had caught up with him and his brother, Luigi, while they were on an evening walk. They were forced to refuge in a cave until the storm passed. By the time they were in bed, it was midnight.

Mario was in the middle of yet another stretch when he remembered what was going on today. One week ago, Princess Peach had sent a message to the brothers through their Mailbox SPs, asking for them to be her bodyguards during her upcoming party. The Bros. accepted, of course, since Peach is one of their closest friends. They would do nearly anything for her. After grabbing a red-spotted mushroom for a quick breakfast, he decided to step outside.

Right in front of him was his brother, working the clothesline as usual. He was garbed in his normal clothing: blue overalls slipped over a green shirt, a pair of brown shoes, and a green cap with an green L over a white circle emblazoned upon it to represent his name: Luigi. He greeted him with a smile and a wave. After Mario returned the gesture, Luigi asked him if their late sleep still had his grip on him. Mario said he felt fine, and that he would be ready to leave for the castle in just a minute. Luigi said that it would be best if the two of them got to Toad Town, the capital of the Mushroom Kingdom and home to princess Peach, quickly. However, Mario had other plans. He asked Luigi if they could take Mushroom Way instead. Ever since they installed a warp pipe to Toad Town, they never used Mushroom Way, despite it being one of the best trails in the entire kingdom. Luigi said that he was okay with that, but Mario would probably have to skip breakfast. Mario assured Luigi that he was okay with that; he could just binge on the food at the party to make a nice brunch.

Mario rushed back into the house. First, he changed out of his pajamas and into his normal wear - one akin to Luigi's, but his shirt and cap were red, and bore an M instead of an L. Once he was dressed, he dashed all over the home, picking up some spare objects around the house. A Raccoon Leaf that provides the user with cute ears and a bushy tail that somehow grants flight… A pair of wings, stripped from a Wing Cap that has more sensible logic in flight… a Fire Flower, cleverly placed in a pot for house emergencies… his Cape Feather… and, of course, his and his brother's hammer; hard iron cylinders with wooden sticks running through them. All of them were slipped into his overalls that, thanks to some magic from the princess, would make them hidden away in a pocket of endless space until they were called upon.

Mario met back up with Luigi, and, after he got his hammer from Mario, the two were off. There was a reason Mario was so eager to be in a hurry just to take Mushroom Way; it was a gorgeous way to get to Toad Town. It was a nicely paved pathway created from dirt wiped clean of grass granted safety from the sun thanks to the trees looming over it. It was a beautiful walk through nature, and Mario enjoyed every bit of it. From the very first time he went through it, he was absolutely sure that he was going to settle his house in the area, not only to protect possible attacks on them from effecting Toad Town (though the house was never actually attacked), but also to experience this fantastic walk.

But then, amongst the sounds of the birds and bugs, he sensed a disturbance; some strangers talking from far away. He informed his brother of the conversation he could barely hear, and Luigi noted that he could hear it as well. But as Mario was about to approach the strangers, Luigi said that he wasn't interested in pursuing them. How could they know if the strangers were friendly, or antagonistic? They could walk into a trap. Mario, however, denied that there would be much danger in investigating. The two of them were not bad with stealth at all, and if things look bad, they could always run away. With a sigh, Luigi swallowed his fears and followed Mario off the beaten path.

Eventually, within a clearing, they found a watchtower reaching decently high into the sky so they could see into Toad Town. Unfortunately, it didn't belong to the Mushroom Kingdom: a brown chestnut-like creature with two tiny stubs for feet with shoes put over them known as a goomba and yellow turtle wearing a pair of green shoes that matched the color of his shell known as a koopa inhabited the top of the tower confirmed that they were Koopa Kingdom spies, ordered around by who else than Bowser Koopa. Whether it's a festival, a holiday, or even a boring day, the scourge of the Mushroom Kingdom was always up to something. Sometimes, he wished he could go a just a little while without hearing anything about the Koopa and his army.

Mario told Luigi to stay in the shrubbery while he handled the threat. He slowly and quietly approached the tower, unbeknownst to the two soldiers eating their breakfast. One he was under the tower, he got out his hammer. After investigating each of the four wooden sticks that held up the tower, he chose one that would best kill the foundation of the watchtower. He pulled his hammer back and took a deep breath, ready to strike with all his might. But then, the two goons in the watchtower began speaking.

"So… why do you think we haven't gotten any news from the castle this week?" The goomba asked.

"Beats me. I've ran this watchtower for months now, and they've never missed a beat in sending a message to us," The koopa answered.

Mario hesitated in the attack. These two were dropping information that might be useful. Why stop them now?

"Would Lord Bowser have a reason to cut us off?"

"Like heck he would ever do that. We're one of his only gateways into the enemy lines. We're his most important scouts."

The implications perplexed Mario just as much as the two watchmen. Why would Bowser cut off contact with his watchmen? The only reason he would stop interaction with them is if… he didn't need them. Could Bowser be nearby, ready to strike on yet another festivity? He made a resolve to have his guard up during the party, just in case. Deeming there to be no more useful information in the two watchmen, he swung his hammer and knocked out a piece of foundation. He turned and ran, not waiting to see the aftermath of the goomba and koopa's shrieks as the floor came out from under them. Luigi was waiting for Mario back on the trail. He signaled for the two of them to continue. It wasn't long before they had marched into Toad Town.

The conductor of the K64 train was the first to greet the Mario Bros. "Mornin'! Nice day, isn't it?" he said. Mario waved and nodded in agreement.

His greeting was quickly followed with more hellos and good mornings coming from similar-looking toads, with their mushroom-shaped heads, vests with the same color as the spots on their head, and two shoes lacking legs to accompany them, as the brothers passed them by going down the street. While the Bros. may be considered celebrities, they were treated like normal people here. The residents were too familiar with the Bros. for their presence to be a surprise.

The two were about to enter through the gigantic door dividing the rest of Toad Town from the historical district when, suddenly, something wrapped around Mario and jerked him away from his brother. He was frightened for a quick moment, until he realized the thing wrapped around his waist was a tongue, and the person who had taken ahold of him was his best friend. "Thrthise!" Yoshi exclaimed, a joyful expression on his face.

Yoshi, who identified with the same name as his species, bore a long, frog-like tongue that could tether around just about anything he wanted. As threatening as the concept of being swallowed up from a distance was, he certainly didn't look all too dangerous. His green body with a large white strip running from his large cheeks down his stomach to the underside of his flag-like tail, all held up by a pair of orange boots connected by two small legs, made for an appearance that most considered cute. On top of that, yoshis in general were pretty friendly, with a small shell that doubled as a saddle adhered to every yoshi's back so they could share their agile movement speed with others.

Luigi ran towards the two with a furious look on his face. He was not happy that he had been scared half to death by Yoshi's entrance. Yoshi slid his tongue back into his mouth, under the gigantic, ball-like object that you would only be able to tell was a snout because of the two slits for breathing near the top.

"Aww, lighten up, Luigi. I was only playing with you two," Yoshi said.

Luigi sighed and let it go.

"Anyways, what are you guys doing here so early?" Yoshi asked. "I thought the party doesn't start for another half hour."

Mario explained the situation.

"Bodyguards, huh? I should've expected that, really. Say, do you think the princess would let me join you two for a little bit? I came over here a little on the early side so I could see the rest of town, but..."

Mario knew the feeling. You'd think that, being the capital and all, Toad Town would be loaded with landmarks, but the only really interesting sites are the castle and possibly the shopping district. Yoshi hadn't really seen much of Toad Town, other than the parts that directly lead to the Warp Pipe to the Bros' pad, so he couldn't blame him for thinking there was a little more to the town. Knowing how lenient Peach usually is, Mario accepted.

The party of three passed through the door and entered the historical district. Considering that Peach's Castle resided here, only the most high-class residents were allowed to live here. After passing through their last wave of greetings, they were finally within the castle's walls.

"Ah, Masters Mario and Luigi! And Master Yoshi, as well! Welcome!" Toadsworth said as they entered. "The princess has been waiting. Come, I will escort you to the Toad Brigade." Toadsworth turned and began walking up the stairs, with Mario, Luigi and Yoshi following behind. After making their way up two floors, they finally reached the door into the throne room.

Mario and the gang said hi to each of the members in the Toad Brigade, who were just in front of the door. The team consisted of Captain Toad, a red toad with a vest and a headlamp wrapped around his head, Toadbert, a blue toad with glasses, a purple and green toad that Mario never caught the names of because they always refer to themselves as Mailtoad and Banktoad, and a yellow one who was always either absent-minded or asleep. It was an odd group of royal guards, but Mario supposed they at least do the job.

"Now then," Toadsworth interjected, "the princess asked me to bring you to her throne room when you arrived. She's not in the greatest mood today, so please show her the politeness and respect you would show any other princess." Mario thought that sounded a bit odd, but didn't question it.

Toadsworth opened the door and the gang walked in. The group assumed two orderly lines - Mario, Luigi, and Captain Toad in the front, Yoshi and the rest of the crew in the back - and bowed before their fair princess.

Peach turned towards Toadsworth with a frustrated look on her face. "Please tell me you did not tell them the whole 'Peach is in a bad mood' thing-"

"Princess, we HAVE to show some form of formality around civilians!" Toadsworth argued.

"These aren't civilians, Toadsworth, they're my friends. And my friends should be allowed to act casually around me, regardless of my social status!"

"There's just no pleasing you..." He grumbled while walking away.

"Anyway... welcome, all of you. I'm so glad you could come and assist me during this party." Peach stood up from her throne and approached the back row.

"Toadbert, you and... the Yellow one... will be guarding the door to the throne room. I highly doubt anyone will try to reach the throne room, but we'd best protect it, just in case."

"Can do!" Toadbert replied, grabbing Yellow by the hand and dashing back to the door.

"Mailtoad and... Banktoad...? You'll be guarding the door into the district. All you have to do is make sure no one shady tries to get into the district without showing their identification first."

"On it!" Both of them said simultaneously.

"Next, you'll... Oh! Yoshi! What a surprise!" Peach exclaimed. "Did the Bros. invite you to come along?"

"Yes," Yoshi replied. "Is... is that alright with you, princess?"

"Of course!" Peach answered. "The more, the merrier. In fact, I have a special job, just for you!"

"Really?" Yoshi's eyes seemed to sparkle.

"Really. Usually, our food pantry is well managed, but on occasion, some rodents find their way in and eat some of the food prepared. Might I ask you to 'survey' the pantry?" Peach winked for clarification.

"Yes, ma'am!" Yoshi saluted before heading back down the hall. He wasn't stupid; he knew that there had never actually been rodents in the food pantry. She was offering him a snack before the party really began. It seemed that Toadsworth got the message, too, because he saw him roll his eyes as he left the room.

Peach moved on. "Captain Toad, you and Luigi will guard the doors into the castle. Be sure that everyone who enters shows an invitation to the festivities."

"Luigi, I'd also like to ask for you to escort any commoner who is disturbing the peace outside off the premises," Peach continued. "Oh, and can you relay that message to Yoshi once he is done 'surveying' the pantry?"

Luigi nodded, and the two headed out.

"Mario, you'll be my personal bodyguard. Considering your popularity, you might have to meet and greet with me, as well," Peach said. Mario knew the lingo around here: Peach really meant that she and Mario were going to hang out together the whole time.

The gang helped set up some final preparations, and in the blink of an eye, the foyer was filled with people, both friends and strangers alike. Tons upon tons of people were welcomed and greeted. Some individuals were even meeting Mario for the first time, shockingly. All the while, Mario and his princess chatted nearly any time they were able to.

"My, all this greeting is tuckering me out…" Peach finally said, after an hour of chatting. "Why don't we take a break for a little bit?"

The two asked one of the castle servants to bring them some food, and then went up back into the throne room. The two sat at the upper veranda behind the throne overlooking all of Toad Town as the two engaged in their delectable meals.

"Isn't this such a nice view? It's a wonder we haven't done this together yet."

Mario told her he thought that this was the best party she's ever thrown.

"Yeah, things have been really going well. Though I don't think I could ever top your parties." The two shared a laugh. "Hopefully, Bowser doesn't ruin the moment."

Mario was reminded of the watchtower and the two guards. Did Bowser have something up his sleeve today? _Maybe I was wrong_ , he tried to reassure himself. _Maybe Bowser is just taking a break, so he's ignoring the guards. Maybe -_

"PRINCESS!"

The sudden shout of Toadbert from across the hall broke Mario's wishful thinking. The two both hopped up and hurried to meet him.

"It's Yellow, by boogity! He had vision in his dream! Everyone in the castle is in-"

The sudden sounds of yelling and screaming confirmed Toadbert's words. Something was going on in the foyer.

The three came out to an awful sight. Everyone was running in a terrible panic. The door downstairs had been sealed off by a black steel grate.

Peach watched over the confusion and asked, "Where did that grate come fro-"

Suddenly, a black steel panel appeared over top of someone in the crowd. Steel bars seemed to form and grow out of nothing, making a _clank_ sound as the bars fused with the plates, completing the cage. The entire room went silent except for the poor Toad trapped inside. And then, as quickly as it had appeared, the cage shrunk into nothingness, taking the Toad with it.

Everyone in the room tried to take cover, but to no avail. The black cages continued to appear and take away more toads, yoshis, goombas, koopas, and anyone else that could be trapped.

"Oh, heavens…" Peach said, shocked to the core. "This is- ah!"

Mario and Toadbert jumped back as a cage claimed Peach's freedom.

"Mario, get out of here! Don't let them t-"

And, in a flash, she was gone, banished to wherever these cages went to. Mario stood in utter terror. In a mere minute, this party had went from a fun experience to the fruition of yet another kidnapping of the princess. His mind was in a whirlwind of thoughts of failure and frustration.

"By boogity, Mario, snap out of it!" Mario's Toad companion brought him back to reality. "You heard the princess! Try jumping out of the veranda! I'll see if I can save anyone else."

Mario nodded before rushing back into the throne room. He was about halfway across the throne room when he saw him. Bowser was the last barrier between his doom and his freedom. He had assumed that this was, indeed, his enemy's attack; this just confirmed it. The hero readied his hammer and continued his momentum as he rushed Bowser.

His rival winded up for a punch. Mario saw this and dodged to the right, and then whacked Bowser's arm with his hammer. He shouted in pain, but curiously didn't say anything. Bowser threw another punch at his stomach, which sent Mario to the ground. Bowser picked him up by the throat and started strangling him.

Mario struggled to break out of his near impenetrable grip. Once that proved fruitless, Mario realized what he needed to do. He pulled back his leg, and swung.

Bowser dropped his rival to clutch the body region the hero just slammed. Mario took this opportunity to catch his breath and pick up his hammer. Then, Mario made a break for wall, jumped, and pushed himself off the wall, aiming his hammer swing straight for Bowser's head.

Suddenly, his own head was struck with incredible force. It was that moment that Mario realized that Bowser was faking his pain. He was in a shell; he couldn't hit him through it. He had set up that entire sequence just so he could get a free hit on the hero. Bowser never plays this dirty. Mario also realized that, in just two punches, Mario was already too weak to even stand. What had his enemy done to get the better of him this time? He wasn't sure…

Mario landed on his back, rapidly fading from consciousness. His enemy stood before him, easily able to finally slay him. But, then… he left. Mario, confused, raised his head to see Bowser, but he couldn't see him at all. It was as if he was never there. Unable to bear the pain anymore, he collapsed.

He laid there for what felt like an eternity, until he heard a pair of voices shouting his name. Even though they sounded like they were miles away, he could still recognize Luigi and Yoshi's voices. Suddenly, a loud sound even his near-death feeling couldn't silence ran through his eardrums.

 _Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank._

As the torturous sounds continued, he felt himself be lifted into the air, and then the rushing of the wind as his friend carried him. The sounds of the pounding of their shoes ceased as the rushing wind changed direction. Mario finally lost his grip on his consciousness, making him lose what little grip he had on his friend, and he fell, and fell, and fell. All the while, that deafening, unforgettable noise consumed him.

 _Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank..._

* * *

 **Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.**

Mario stretched his arms. His body and mind wrestled as he slowly crawled out of his incredibly comfortable bed. He tried to turn off his alarm, but couldn't find it anywhere. He was about to turn for the stairs when reality hit him like a truck.

This wasn't his peaceful home. This was Toadley Clinic, and he was being saved from death at the hands of Bowser.

He heard footsteps approach him. His favorite green dinosaur popped out from behind the curtains. He turned at where Mario was supposed to be and nearly did a double take.

"Oh, heavens!" he cried out, before embracing his friend with the greatest hug he could possibly give. "This weird grate showed up in front of the castle doors, and then we heard screaming, so we started freaking out, but then it went away, so we went up and found you on the floor in the throne room, but then this cage started forming around the castle, so we jumped out of the veranda and I…" Yoshi took a long breath. "I dropped you. When we landed, I thought I had killed you. We rushed you here to Toadley Clinic, but I thought that they wouldn't be able to wake you. I'm so, so, sorr-"

Mario tightened the hug. He told his friend to dry his tears. It wasn't his fault that he was so badly beaten, or he just so happened to go unconscious in free fall. It was Bowser's… wasn't it?

"I thought it may have been him…" Yoshi suddenly tightened the embrace, presenting one of his few moments of anger to Mario. "He's going to pay for what he's done."

"Master Mario!" Toadsworth called out. "Good heavens, you scared all of us half to death." Mario broke his embrace with Yoshi to greet Toadsworth with a wave and Luigi with a much shorter hug. "I have to say, you've recovered incredibly fast. Last we saw of you, you looked nearly dead, but, aside from that bruise on your face, you look in top condition. I suppose Yoshi has told you his side of the story?" Mario nodded.

"Good, then I don't need to explain what happened to the castle. Though, you probably should see it for yourself anyways. Yoshi, could you be a gentleman and bring Mario over to the site while Luigi and I check him out of here?"

Yoshi offered his shell, but Mario declined. He felt perfectly fine now; he could walk there. The two left the clinic and rounded the bend out of the shopping district, putting the two back on the original path they had taken just two hours ago. However, this wasn't the same happy Toad Town they had just seen. An aura of sorrow, dread, and fear consumed the town and its inhabitants. No one greeted him; they just breathed sighs of relief. This made Mario very concerned about the state of the castle. Turns out, it was for good reason. The two opened the historical district doors and confirmed those concerns.

Peach's Castle was gone.

* * *

The young princess awoke on the cold, hard ground. She found herself in an incredibly stuffy room blocked behind some bars, similar to the ones that had just taken her away.

"Helloooo? Anyone?" Peach shouted. No reply greeted her. With nothing to do, she laid upon the floor and tried to fall back asleep. Maybe it's just a nightmare, she thought. If I lay here long enough, I'll wake up in a warm bed at home and-

Suddenly, the door from across the room opened, and a koopa, clad with a blue shell and a blue bandana around his head, entered.

"Good morning, Princess Peach."

Peach suddenly stood up and grabbed on to the bars, looking no better than an average criminal. "You!" She began. "You're with Bowser, aren't you? What have you done with those poor civilians you picked up before me? Why would you ever do something so dir-"

"Calm down, Princess," The Koopa interrupted. "It's against protocall for me to answer any of your questions. I'm sorry."

Peach sat down in annoyance. She'd been baffled for the past two minutes and no one has given her any solace. What was she going to do now? It was at that moment Peach noticed two boxes within one of his arms. She could see the titles on both; Mario Party and Pit of 100 Trials.

Peach was shocked. Those were her two favorite board games! How could he have known?

"Noticed the boxes, eh? Yeah, I brought them with me for guard duty because I thought you might be bored. Are these fine with you?"

"Oh, um… I guess we could pass the time with them..." Peach said. She knew there wasn't much else to do; she couldn't escape because she doesn't know how this place was structured; she couldn't coax a way to escape out of someone, since she was being assigned specific guards; and she had no one to rely on to send messages to Mario. The only thing she really could do was wait for her hero.

"Good to hear. Now, which one should we play first?"


	2. United by a Cause

"Oh, how terrible. Poor princess…"

Toadsworth sat on a bench near the K64 station as Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi waited for preparations to be completed. They were exchanging their points of view of the event, and Mario had just completed his. Nearly everyone else shared similar events - they were simply messing around when a steel grate blocked the front door. Mario was the only person who was inside the castle when the attack began who was able to escape, and even then, he needed support from Luigi and Yoshi.

"Don't worry, Toadsworth. We'll get the princess back, just like every other time she's vanished. I know it," Yoshi stated.

"I'm quite sure you will, but… this is much more than just the princess we're talking about. Over a hundred people were inside that castle, and over a thousand are probably related to people that were taken. Sure, Bowser has taken the castle before, but never to the extent of taking this many innocents…" Toadsworth replied.

"Yeah, a lot of people are hurting right now. I know I am - almost half of my squad was in there," Captain Toad replied. "That's why those three are going - so we can stop hurting."

"I… suppose you are right." Toadsworth said. "Why are you three not going with them, may I ask?"

"We need to stay here so we can protect the town and comfort the victims' families. I, for one, don't want Mario to waste any time on things we can cover instead." Mailtoad replied.

"I see. I have to say, you've impressed me. You three are smarter than you look. Not many people like you are around nowadays."

"T-thank you, Toadsworth." Captain Toad said.

Just then, the conductor of the K64 appeared. "Preparations are ready, Mario. Here are your tickets, like you asked." He handed Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi one ticket for each of them.

Banktoad presented his sack of money. "So, how much do these tickets cost?"

"While we do ask a for a bit of change nowadays to help pay our debts for making our trips more luxurious, this trip is on the house. It would be unwise to make our heroes pay for a journey that affects all of us, don't you agree?"

"Thank you for your hospitality." Toadsworth said as Banktoad handed the coins back to Mario. "Now, off you go! Save the princess!" And so the three picked up their haphazardly packed luggage and walked through the door. The conductor shut it behind them.

"ALLLL ABOOOOARD!"

Then, the train sprung to life, slowly but surely picking up speed. Toadsworth, Captain Toad, Mailtoad, and Banktoad all waved at their trio of saviors, hoping they could see them through the window.

"Please, bring her home again…" Toadsworth murmured.

* * *

 _Boop! Beep! Boop! Beep!_

"Good morning, fellow passengers," the voice of the engineer blared through the speakers. "We'd like to thank you for choosing us as your travelling method. Our first stop will be Rugged Station, a short walk away from the luxurious Plack Beach, and our final stop will be Hoohoo Station, at the base of the mountain splitting the Mushroom and Beanbean Kingdoms. Complimentary snacks will be available shortly."

Mario was almost nauseous from the amount of Deja Vu he was having. The remodeled K64 felt almost exactly like the Excess Express in Rogueport, from the red wallpaper, to the bunk beds against the wall, even down to the Dried Shroom in the drawer of the dresser. Sitting beside him was Luigi, who was enjoying the trip and waiting for Yoshi to join them.

Mario asked Luigi what he thought about this mess. Luigi hadn't said much since he had awoken. Luigi said that he was just as worried for the princess as Mario was. He was frankly terrified by Bowser's power this time around.

"Hey." It was then that Yoshi opened their cabin door. "Mind if I come in?" There were no objections.

"So, Mario, I was thinking about what you said," Yoshi continued, "and something's bothering me. When we came to rescue you, aside from your bruise, there wasn't any sign of a scuffle. You'd think someone that was barefoot would leave dirt or tracks, but there wasn't anything implying he was there. Plus, we didn't see any signs of Bowser's minions anywhere."

Not to mention, Luigi added, that, according to Mario, Bowser vanished into thin air without ever saying anything, which was very out of character for him. Both of them were right. The way this attack was executed was weird. Still, they had to follow the only lead they had, and that was Bowser's presence.

The cabin door opened again, and the conductor entered, carrying a sack. "Hello again, you three. I assume you are enjoying our renovations?"

"Absolutely!" Yoshi exclaimed. "Your cabins are very well managed. I haven't seen a single bit of wear or tear in mine! And you only pay 50 coins for all this?"

"'People don't buy what they can't afford, no matter how good.' That is the motto of K64, and we follow it in everything we do," The conductor explained. "Anyways, it's time for me to offer the mid-train snacks, and since you three are the only ones on the train, you get your pick of the lot." He held up the sack. "In here is about 20 packs of Heart Beans provided by our Hoohoo Station. They're worth 2 coins a pack. Take as many as you'd-"

Already, Mario had put 40 coins in the hands of the conductor and taken the sack out of his hand.

"...Oh! Um… I wasn't expecting you to buy _all_ of the packs. You did pay full price for them, though, so I guess I'll let you have at it. Enjoy…" The conductor left the three to themselves.

Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi quickly got to munching away at their lunch, helping to waste away the two hour long journey that was ahead of them. They decided they would hold more questioning of their objective until later. Suddenly…

 _Boop! Beep! Boop! Beep!_

…

"Uh…" Yoshi licked his chops. "Was that a glitch-"

The train shook.

 _Boop! Beep! Boop! Beep!_

"S… SMORGS!"

 _Of course_. The trio quickly hopped off their seats and rushed out of their cabin. Mario, knowing full well how this train was designed, made his way to the back of the train, searching for the storeroom. There, they found an exit to the exterior of the train. Outside, it was quite obvious they were no longer in the simple lands of Sunbeam Plains. The dirt beneath the grass was very visible, and mountains and ravines were all over the place; in fact, the train was about to pass through a small ravine, just a little taller than the train. This was no time to admire the scenery, though - there was a renowned train raider to defeat!

Mario turned his head left and found a ladder leading up to the roof of the train car. Mario and Luigi nearly fell onto Yoshi's head while climbing up, due to both the weaker grip their gloves provided, and the polish and smoothness of the handles. After reaching the top, they wasted no time hopping over a few of the cars to reach their perpetrator. A large, pink-colored Smorg had latched on to the front of the train, blocking the engineer's view. It was using other black Smorgs as its limbs, just like the ones Mario had encountered on the Excess Express. The Smorg army finally noticed their confrontation, and crawled like a spider to approach them.

The Bros. readied their hammers.

"Let's a-"

Suddenly, a figure hopped down from the ravine the train was within and landed on the Smorgs. It took a moment for Mario to realize that this figure was, in fact, Bowser himself. The Smorg army shoved the king back. Bowser slid backwards on the back of his spiked shell before bringing himself back to standing position.

"Pssh. You weirdos think that shoving me away will stop me? Think again!"

Bowser ran as fast as he could to meet his victim once again, leaving behind a trail of dirt. He leaped up in the air and cleaved one of the Smorg limbs, sending the Smorgs used to create it flying off the train. Another set of limbs tried to slap him, but another punch dissipated that limb, too. Two more limbs tried to crush the king between them, but his shell proved far too strong to be easily crushed. As the Smorg army was busy attempting this, Bowser took a deep breath and sent a trail of fire straight for their leader.

The Smorg leader writhed with pain from its burns and retreated its limbs. Bowser stepped back and readied a KO Punch to finally finish it, but suddenly, the train hit the brakes. Thinking fast, Mario, who had been watching all of this, grabbed the ledge of one of the train cars. Luigi and Yoshi grabbed on to each of his legs and hung on for dear life. The train made an ear-piercing screech as it came to a halt, sending the hurting Smorg army flying above them, migrating to who knows where.

Once the train had fully ceased movement, the trio stood up and turned to Bowser, who had conveniently been right where the locomotive's shape would keep him from flying off. Bowser seemed to not be aware of their presence just yet.

"Man, that was cool!' Bowser shouted. "Getting on a train, beating up the guys who were hijacking it, and getting them thrown off the train so it looks like I was never here? I couldn't have pulled that off better if I tried! Now all I have to do is wait up here on this tr… aw, crud."

* * *

Bowser let his feet rest on the soft carpet of Mario's cabin as he sat on the bench, impatiently waiting for his enemies to figure out what they actually wanted to do with him. The three had been discussing their plans for what felt like hours, and it was starting to get old. His only source of entertainment was watching the conductor quiver in fetal position in the corner, and even then, it wasn't very captivating. He wished desperately that they hadn't forced him into his shell by stomping on him and pushed him through the door while he still fit.

Luigi argued that Bowser should remain in the train cabin until their adventure was over. Without a leader, his army would be easy to plow through, and they wouldn't need to worry about him seizing the castle again. _Again?_ Bowser thought. _I've haven't touched the place in weeks._

Mario thought that was a bad idea, as leaving Bowser to destroy the train would be unwise. He would probably just want to kill them more for doing that to him. _You got that right_ , Bowser yearned to say.

Yoshi's idea, however, came as a total shock. He wanted to actually have the koopa king tag along with them. Both Bowser and the Bros. were appalled by the suggestion. They all agreed that they would never be compatible to work as a team in a million years. They continued debating until Bowser finally decided to cut in.

"Hey, instead of keeping me cooped up in here wasting my time away, why don't we make a deal?" Bowser interjected. "I'll trade everything that you want from me in exchange for my freedom. Sound fair enough?" Bowser took their silence as a yes. "Good. I didn't want to die of boredom today. So, what do you want from me, anyway?"

Yoshi approached Bowser. Somehow, the weak-looking creature was actually able to intimidate him with a deadly stare. "What did you do with Peach's Castle?"

"What? I don't know what you're talking about, but I can assure you I haven't touched your precious castle."

"Then what are you doing all the way out here? Aren't you supposed to be leading your troops?"

Bowser sighed. He really didn't want to tell this story, but a deal was a deal. "One night, I think about a week ago, I was preparing for bed, trying to end my chaotic day as soon as possible, when Mario showed up in front of the entryway. I knew it wasn't you, though: he didn't say a word when we dueled each other, and I know that your main source of ego-stroking comes from shouting like a deranged lunatic. Every hit seemed to drain me somehow, and in just a few seconds, I was unconscious. When I came to, I was in a crater with no society in sight. I've been living off the land for almost six days now, looking for an easy way to get back home. Thankfully, this train was here."

Yoshi turned to Mario. "Do you think the guy who tried to impersonate you was the same guy who tried to impersonate Bowser in Peach's Castle?"

"What?!" Bowser interjected. "An imposter?" Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi informed Bowser of the attack on the castle.

"Seriously? Another random idiot thinking he can take Peach? That's, what, the sixth one so far? Don't they know I'm the only one allowed to kidnap her? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a castle and princess to claim back..."

As promised, the trio helped him back into his shell and took him out of their cabin. He then popped out and make a break for the exit. Thankfully, the door was quite larger compared to the cabin's, so he was able to easily escape the train, slamming the door behind him.

"Well, I guess that's the end of that," Yoshi said. "I wonder where he's goi-"

"AWW, COME ON!" Bowser's yell could be heard from the inside.

The engineer came to Mario's cabin. "Hey, uh, I see you finally finished with Bowser. You might wanna see this…"

Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Bowser, and the engineer looked over the great canyon dividing the Sunbeam Plains from Mount Rugged. It was once connected by a large bridge for the train, but someone had destroyed it. Bowser smashed his fist into the ground in defeat. "Of course. I thought something in my life might finally go my way for once, but nope. Some dumbo destroyed the bridge! Now what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, considering it'll take weeks to repair this bridge, and we're well known as the only grounded mode of transportation that can reach this place… Yep, you're gonna have to head north and cross Dry Dry Desert instead," the engineer replied.

"Uggggggggh." And with that, Bowser stormed off.

"Man, this is such a shame," the engineer continued. "It's gonna take a huge chunk out of our profits to fix this thing. How are we going to pay this back?"

It was then that Mario handed him a handful of coins - 100 of them, to be exact.

"Oh, no. You don't have to give this to me. We have enough money to pay this back, really. You've been generous enough to us already," The engineer spoke.

Mario took the hint and put his coins back in the sack.

They said their goodbyes to the conductor, finally having mustered the courage to venture from corner, and the engineer, buried in his Mailbox XP, most likely sending out calls for assistance. Then, they set out in northward, leaving the K64 behind.

"I guess there's a reason they're the heroes and we aren't," The conductor said to the engineer, watching them depart.

"Yeah. I guess you're right," The engineer replied.

* * *

The winds howled ferociously as Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi journeyed forward, walking parallel to the great canyon that impeded their progress. The K64 train was long behind them, out of sight. It had been a quiet and straight journey so far. However, their first obstacle made itself more and more apparent as they approached.

Yet another giant gorge met with the canyon, dividing the land and blocking their way yet again.

"Wow, that's a pretty wide gap," Yoshi commented. "I could probably Flutter Jump one of you two over there, but since this side is higher up, I couldn't come back for the other one. Any ideas, Mario?"

Mario was stumped. He had crossed many gaps in his career, but he knew when he was outmatched. Unless they could somehow magically get a ride over, they were stuck.

Luigi, however, had an idea. He asked Mario and Yoshi what was most likely a terrible idea; if Bowser could help.

"Actually, that's probably a pretty good move," Yoshi replied. "Even if Bowser isn't here anymore, we can follow how he made it over."

So the party ventured westward, looking for Bowser. They didn't have to look long, though; he was only slightly off from where they had arrived. He was sitting on the edge of the cliff.

"Oh, uh… hey again," Yoshi started.

"This is unbelievable," Bowser began his rant. "Peach is somewhere outside of my clutches… my minions and kids must be worried sick… my only luxury this whole week lasted two minutes… and now my greatest enemies keep following me!" Bowser slammed his palms on the ground for emphasis.

"It's not our fault we're going to the same place, Bowser-"

"Well, now we're not going anywhere," Bowser stood back up. "Unless you can possibly see some kind of path to the other side, we're probably gonna have to walk around this thing, which will probably take a day even at an urgent pace."

"Actually…" Yoshi had taken notice of the landscaping around them, and found a very suspicous slope. "Can't you slide around inside that shell?"

"Yeah, but I don't exactly see what… ohhhhh." Bowser turned his back to the trio. "A little help here?"

"Why should we help you, though? I thought you didn't want us following you."

"Yeah, but I also don't want to waste time," he answered, not even turning around to face them. "Those plumbers there have some shell-riding skills. I'll give one a ride in exchange for putting me into my shell for me."

Mario jumped on Bowser's head, shoving him into his shell once more. Once inside, he started spinning around like a spinia and throttled himself straight towards the slope, not giving any of them the chance to hop on. He was launched up into the air, with more than enough momentum to carry him across.

"See ya on the other side, suckers-"

 _Boink!_

Bowser shouted as the invisible block he had just hit sent him cascading into the chasm. By some miracle, a piece of rock jutted out from the canyon, making a platform that Bowser just so happened to land on.

Bowser stood up and turned around… and there were the three of them, following him like soldiers. "Seriously? You're gonna follow my failure? Why don't you just long jump across or something?"

Mario explained that even this canyon was a little long for him, but this opening was an easy jump.

"Now we're even more stuck. Hope you came here with at least some plan other than 'follow Bowser!'"

 _Actually…_

Mario pulled out his hammer and smacked the wall of the canyon. This caused some of the rock to shift and form a tiny step possible to stand on. Luigi, realizing Mario's plan, smashed another piece of the wall. The Bros. climbed up the wall of the canyon on their very own rock climbing wall, continuing to form it as they ascended. Yoshi and Bowser followed suit.

After about three minutes of climbing, they finally reached the top of the canyon. Luigi laid on the ground, exhausted by such back-breaking work, while Mario pulled up his friend and enemy.

"Wow, we made it… somehow," Yoshi said, looking back at the cliff they just came from with a look of confidence.

"Welp, see ya," Bowser said before beginning to walk away.

"Bowser, wait!"

The koopa turned back at the trio. "What? You want another monologue or something?"

"Didn't you see us back there?" Yoshi began. "On our own, there was no way we could cross that gap, but thanks to my insight, your abilities, and Mario and Luigi's creativity, we were able to cross it easily. Imagine what we could do if we used those strategies for combat?"

Bowser went silent for a moment, pondering his options.

"...Fine. For now, I will let you guys be valuable members of the Koopa Troop. But this is only temporary! When the time comes, I'm taking the princess for myself. Got it?"

Mario jokingly saluted.

"Good. Oh, and Mario? Don't salute, please. It makes us look like we're allies."

And with that, the party made its way onward. It was a fairly awkward group; Luigi and Bowser were trying their absolute hardest to stay away from the others. Mario decided to help unify them again, so he went to Luigi and asked him why he was not near the others. Luigi said that he was nervous about being near Bowser. Mario reassured Luigi, reminding him that things have always ended well when Bowser was with them. Luigi ultimately decided to snuff out his nerves and walk closer to the koopa king.

While Mario was glad Luigi was comfortable again, he was worried about his newest companion. Bowser had never been the type to give up his pride and fight with them against a common enemy. Sure, he had done so when Smithy was attacking the northern Mushroom Kingdom, and when Count Bleck had threatened to destroy the multiverse, but those were two instances in a sea of rivalry and arrogance. He'd probably never be comfortable with the rest of the party.

Yoshi, however, was much harder to deter. While it was true that he helped Mario all the time, he normally didn't actually get to see or fight Bowser. In fact, he can only think of two instances where he fought Bowser, one of which was when Bowser was 3 and he was a newborn. He didn't know Bowser enough to make the assumption that he would never like anyone in the party. He decided to break off and speak with Bowser.

"What do you want?" Bowser unwelcomingly stated.

"Well, um… I was asking if we could possibly walk as a group?" Yoshi asked.

"And why would I want to do that?" Bowser countered.

"Well, what if we got separated because we were so far apart?"

"That would be a blessing."

"But, you were the one who said we would be valua-"

"Think for a second, Nose-for-brains! Why would I want to be attacked by generic evil villain #76 and you three at the same time? I'm only working with you because… why are you laughing?"

Yoshi tried his hardest to stifle his giggles. "Nose-for-brains?! My gosh, Bowser, that is priceless! I can't believe none of the people I've fought before have ever called me something as hilarious as that."

"Well, I try to make my nicknames insulting, but whatever. As I was saying… you three are just a tactical move. Nothing more, nothing less. Now get out of my sight before I rethink and beat the heck out of you," Bowser concluded. Yoshi left him, barely even caring how defeated his attempt was, still laughing at Bowser's futile attempt at annoying him. It was then Yoshi knew that, no matter how willing Bowser was, he was going to be a joy to work with.

"Does Bowser give all of us wacky nicknames?" Yoshi asked. Mario informed him that the only names Bowser bothers to remember on their side are Mario's and Peach's. Anyone else gets called by some attempt at an insulting nickname, like "Green stache," "Space momma," and, most recently, "Nose-for-brains."

"Gosh, that is great. Who knew our greatest enemy had such a sense of humo-"

 _Bonk._

The sound of a goomba trying and failing to harm Bowser rang out in the vast and otherwise quiet region. Bowser turned to see his attacker, still hopping back a bit as recoil from the pitiful strike.

"Yeah, that isn't gonna work, buddy."

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" The goomba quickly ran away in fear.

"HEY! Get back here!" Bowser shouted, giving chase.

The goomba moved at a much faster pace than Bowser's sizeable body shape would let him. The goomba turned back to see the koopa king steadily fall behind, happy his failed attempt hadn't resulted in capture. That all changed when he slammed his face straight into Mario's hammer, who had quickly hopped on Yoshi and gotten ahead of him. As soon as he landed on his back, Luigi picked him up so he couldn't run away.

"Noooo! Let me go! Please! I'll do anything!" The goomba cried out, fearing the worst.

"Oh calm down," Bowser replied, catching up with the rest of them. "Just tell us why the heck you, some random Goomba would try to strike me do-"

Bowser could barely finish his sentence before the goomba spilled out everything he knew.

"I was just keeping our troop in mind, I swear! Private Goomp told us we aren't following your orders any-"

"Private Goomp?!" Bowser exclaimed in shock. He took the goomba out of Luigi's hands and into his own. "Why would he say that?"

"I don't know! He just told us we had a new leader and that we were being stationed at the border between Sunbeam Plains and Dry Dry Desert to stop Mario and his crew! So when I saw you hanging out with them, I thought you had betrayed us, so I tried to attack you! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME, LORD BOWSER!"

"Pipe it down, Goomba!" He instantly quieted down. "I don't recognize you as one of my troops, but you know to refer to me as Lord Bowser, so I'll give you my respect. Tell me one more thing and I'll let you go."

Bowser brought the goomba very close to his eyes. It was impossible for either of them to break eye contact.

"What is the name of your new leader?"

"Shade," the goomba uttered.

"Shade…" The king murmured to himself. "Alright, I'll keep my promise. You can go now." Bowser put the goomba down.

"Oh, thank you, Lord Bowser! Star Spirits bless you!" The goomba shouted, running off to who knows where.

"Didn't you say that you didn't recognize him?" Yoshi asked.

"Yeah. Which means whoever this Shade guy is is bringing in new recruits."

* * *

As the party pressed onwards, the grass below them became a bit larger and thicker. The arid and dry temperatures cooled around them. With each step, the place became more and more like the Sunbeam Plains they knew so well.

All the while, the four debated on what course of action they should take next. It was clear to them that Shade had somehow corrupted or manipulated Private Goomp. While it was true that he had the near impossible dream to one day have a higher position of power than Bowser, he was still very loyal to his king. This loyalty had earned him the status of royal guardian, a position just under Bowser's own kids. Private Goomp would never waste it away like this. The question that lingered in their heads was what they should do about it.

"Mario, think about this," Yoshi protested. "If we leave him corrupted like this, he might try to launch an attack on one of the innocent villages out there. Do you really want to risk that?"

Mario thought that Yoshi did have a fair point. However, he argued that Shade might exploit this action and use that time to launch another attack at Toad Town and harm even more innocents. He has already proven that he could invade Peach's Castle; what's stopping him from seizing Toad Town?

"I hate to say it, but I kind of have to agree with Nose-for-brains here," Bowser said. "If we were to save Private Goomp, I'd be back in control of his squadron of goombas. Those numbers could easily land us a victory in our battle against Shade."

Luigi also added that Captain Toad, Mailtoad, and Banktoad could protect Toad Town for them, so they wouldn't need to worry about another invasion.

Mario knew his opinion had ultimately been outnumbered, so he finally agreed to taking action against Private Goomp.

After hearing the approval, Yoshi began determining their battle plans. "Bowser," he began. "What can you tell us about your goomba ranks?"

"I know how Mario and Green Stache work," Bowser boasted. "If you just throw everyone you have into one controlled attack, they'll just hop over it and head straight for you. But if you spread them out over a large region, you give them more opportunities to miss jumps, get careless, or let themselves be hit. If there's anything that my minions learn from me, it's that. However, learning that took lots and lots of trial and error. It's Private Goomp's first time going toe to toe with us on his own; he's got no idea how to manage troops. He'll probably just hole them all up in the fortress and charge at us when we get close."

Their course of action seemed clear to Mario: first, they would make their presence clear to draw out their troops. Once a swarm began, Bowser would act as a meat shield while Mario and Luigi confront Private Goomp.

It was fortunate that they determined their course of action, because, just as they decided what to do, they walked up a small slope which had blocked their view of the fortress. It bore a striking resemblance to Bowser's first castles, albeit much larger. A flag with a Goomba on it flowed in the breeze at the top of the fort. The four of them prepared for a fight.

At the top of the fort, Private Goomp appeared.

"EVERYONE! CHARGE!" He shouted.

Suddenly, the gates of the fort opened up, and a swarm of roughly 30 goombas rushed out to battle against them.

"Mario, let's move!" Yoshi said, offering him his shell once again. Mario hopped on and the two dashed through the swarm, Luigi following close behind. Dozens of headbonks aimed at the pair, but none of them landed. Yoshi's agility was a tough obstacle for the group of goombas to counter.

Once they reached the wall of the fort, the doors had been shut tight. However, Yoshi had a plan. He jumped and kicked his legs for an additional boost. Mario, having done this technique many times before, jumped off of his friend, getting him to the top of the fort. Yoshi then landed and let the other brother use him for another jump. The two of them were greeted by a fleet of red goombas, lead by a red-looking Private Goomp. Mario recognized the object that he was carrying: it was the Vibe Scepter from Peach's adventure on Vibe Island.

"Remember what Master Shade told us, everyone! Let the anger inside you power your might!"

With that statement, all of the goombas caught themselves on fire. Mario and Luigi remembered that the last time that scepter was used, it had singlehandedly sent the entire castle into chaos. Neither of them would take its use lightly.

Thinking fast, Luigi threw his hammer at Private Goomp, hoping to knock the scepter out of his hand. Private Goomp dodged the strike, letting another Goomba take the blow. They responded by charging at Luigi. Unsure what to do, Luigi ran into the corner of the square arena, buying him only seconds before being burned alive. However, Mario stood in front of his brother, trying to protect him. The Goombas instead swarmed around Mario… to find that their fire did nothing. Years of using Fire Flowers had caused Mario to become very fire resistant. A little flame would be nothing more than a light tickle to him.

An idea came into his head. _These goombas can produce fire… but are they resistant to it_? He asked himself. To answer his question, he pulled out the Fire Flower from his overalls. He put the flower into his fist, crumpling it in his right hand. Mario looked into a power deep within himself. His hand was set alight with fire, and the colors of his clothing changed to white and red.

Mario swatted at the Goombas with his hand. They darted away from him, trying not to get burned. He chased the Goombas around like a shepherd herding sheep.

"NO!" Private Goomp shouted. "Don't worry about a few burns! We can heal those! Just attack him!"

Back on the ground, Yoshi and Bowser had their own issue to deal with. The goomba army had discovered that their attacks against Bowser were ineffective, so they began approaching Yoshi instead.

"Hey! Didn't I teach you traitors to fight with hon- wah!"

Suddenly, Bowser had tripped over a Koopa's shell. Turns out that they had actually planned for a fight against Bowser, so they recruited a koopa into their ranks in order to trip him up. Bowser wouldn't be able to give Yoshi any assistance.

Yoshi recalled what Mario had taught him about defending himself. He stood still, and waited for the perfect moment to strike. Then, one of the goombas made the first move.

 _Slam!_

The Goomba was knocked away with a mighty superguard. The next headbonk was stuck down, too. Then the next one. Then the next one. Soon enough, each and every one of them were lying on their backs, the superguards being too much for them.

Yoshi turned his head to see Bowser picking up the shell of the Koopa he was fighting and kicking it away like a soccer ball. He hit one of the wooden doors, splitting it to pieces.

Back on the fort, the Bros. had established an easy strategy: Mario would corner the goombas, and Luigi would knock them off of the fort with his hammer until they scurried away, and repeated the process until many of them were gone. Their fury replaced by fear, the goombas' fire had already extinguished. Eventually, only Private Goomp was still standing. He ran, dashed, and darted away until one final strike from Luigi… split him in two?

Now, two entities lied on the ground: Private Goomp, no longer red, and a completely red Toad whose lower body was replaced with a ghostly tail.

"Ugh, my aching head…" the Toad murmured before returning to standing position. "Oh, hello there. What are your nam-"

Suddenly, the roof of the fort was bashed open, and Yoshi and Bowser popped out. Yoshi congratulated the Bros. while Bowser went to comfort his minion. Yoshi then saw the Toad that stood before them.

"So you were the one controlling Private Goomp…" Yoshi said.

"Controlling? What do you mean?" The Toad asked.

"...You don't remember mind controlling him?"

"Nope. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't remember anything. Y'know, in general. Wait, no, I remember something now! I think I'm this thing called a Mirage Soul, and I'm supposed to 'hybridize' with this guy named Mario."

"'Hybridize'?"

"I think I'm supposed to fuse with your body and sleep in it until you call for my powers or something? I don't really remember the details. I'm not really tired or anything, either."

"Well, you're in luck." Yoshi pointed at Mario. "Mario's right there."

"Oh, really? Cool! Still not sure what to do, though. Why don't we just... high five and call it a day?"

As an expression of forgiveness for the actions that seemed to be out of his control, the two exchanged a high five. Already, the two of them felt like good friends. However, many questions still remained in Mario's head. What did Shade do to fuse these two, and why could their new friend not remember anything about it? Why did every challenge they face seem to call back to a previous event in his life? And, most importantly, where was Peach and the others? The only thing that could answer these questions was pressing onward…

* * *

"So you're one of the Koopa Bros?" Peach asked, moving her piece across the board from within her cell.

It had been roughly an hour and a half since she and the first Koopa she had met, who had asked to be called Blue, were in the same room. Within the 20 minutes she had with each guard, he had proven to be the only one who was worth having good manners around. Red had proved to be too self-centered, Black was far too quiet, Green couldn't contain himself, and Yellow didn't even bother coming inside.

"Yeah. The newest one, actually," Blue stated. "I joined the troop just five days ago."

"You deserve better than them. You're a much better person than them."

"Thank you, princess, but that's not really my choice to make. They were looking for a fifth, I passed the test that proved I could be the fifth, so now I'm the fifth." He rolled a 6 on his dice, so he moved his piece, who was Bowser, on to the Star Space in his path. "That's my fifth star."

"Yep, you won. Good game! I wish we could play some more, but I think your shift's almost over…"

"Actually, I'm guarding you full time now," Blue informed. "A koopatrol told me. Shade apparently learned about how you were reacting to each guard. I suppose he thinks that, if you're happy, you won't try to leave. The only time I get to leave is during meal breaks."

"Speaking of meals, I'm starving. Black didn't bother to bring me anything for lunch."

"Oh, really?! I'm sorry to hear that. Don't worry, I think dinner break is in just a moment."

Just as he spoke, a koopatrol - merely a koopa clad in iron armor with a sharp point upon its helmet - opened the door.

"Blue? It's time for your meal. Be back in half an hour."

"Well, see you then, princess," Blue said, putting up the Mario Party board.

"Don't forget to bring me food!"

"Oh, don't worry. I'll bring you lots more than just food."

* * *

Blue wandered the halls of Shade's forsaken abode. He knew he was out of place. He should've been in the cafeteria. He didn't care.

A grand gray door stood before him. He knew where he was. This was Shade's office. Typically, the only person even allowed near this place was Shade's secretary, Hazel. Knowing the consequences of being caught eavesdropping, he brought his head to the door.

"According to our sources, Mario just engaged with the first Mirage Soul."

"I see. That means our smorgs were effective in their job?"

"You are correct. The bridge was completely dismantled."

"Excellent. How is our Shy Guy division?"

"I hear they're ready for the raid. They're waiting for your command. You know, at the rate we're going, they won't be able to stand against us. Taking them down will be as simple as cornering them."

"Glad that there is something that you can be good spirits for. Alright, Hazel, you're dismissed. My only order is for you to give out the order."

"Yes, sir."

Quickly, Blue sat down with his back to the door, making it look as if he was simply waiting for Shade to be available. Hazel, whose pink Magikoopa clothing starkly contrasted with the rest of the hall, opened the door and quickly pointed her wand at Blue out of panic. She dropped her arm when she realized who the Koopa was.

"Geez, Blue! You know that you're supposed to make your presence known around us! Our wands are powerful, you know."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now, what is it that you want?"

"I… um… I wanted to talk to Shade about-"

"Oh, don't tell me this is about the princess again! You were strictly told not to tell her any-"

"Let the koopa in," Shade interrupted from behind the door. "I want to hear what he's talking about. You go handle the Shy Guys, Hazel."

Hazel walked off, cursing under her breath. She very clearly was planning on punishing Blue. Before she could say anything else, Blue quickly entered Shade's office, closing the door behind him.

Blue was frankly terrified to be under the gaze of Shade for the first time. He looked much like a Magikoopa that had withered and turned to gray like a flower in a drought. He hid everything but his face under a gray cloak. His office was just as fitting; the entire room was monochrome and empty, save for his desk and chair and a window behind him. This made the brown book lying on top of the desk far more apparent: its endless weaving of a ribbon of gold in every direction on the cover, all done to mark the centerpiece, a brilliant emerald, starkly contrasted with everything else in the room.

"Now, you're Blue, aren't you? The princess's full-time guard?"

"Y-yes sir, that's me."

"Let me guess: you want to tell her more about our plans."

"How did you know, sir?"

"Lucky guess? Anyway, I really don't see an issue with it. You are her guard, after all; it's your responsibility to keep her in a cell, so it'd be your fault if she gets away with valuable information. If you want to take that risk, I can't really stop you. Now, then. Come a little closer, and I will show you what you may share with her…"

* * *

"I'm baaack," Blue exclaimed, carrying a pile of food and board games with him. The Koopatrol taking his place hurried out before the door even had a chance to close. "And I have good news, too."

"Oh, really?" Peach said. "What is it?"

"So, I talked with Shade, and he said I can tell you a bit about what's going on."

"Really? Wow, thank you so much! I was frankly tired of being out of the loop…" The two sat down and tried to get as comfortable as possible in the nearly empty room.

"So, Shade has this book in his office. Apparently, it's called _Chronicles of the Seven Star Children: The Past_."

"Star Children… I swear I've heard that term before..."

"Basically, it's a prophecy. Not just any kind of prophecy, however; it talks about seven children gifted by the stars whose lives are destined to intertwine. Each Star Child is marked by a trait in the book; Power, Courage, Bravery, Wisdom, Honor, Greed, and Compassion. It talks about things that have happened recently: Power kidnapping Wisdom, Bravery rescuing Courage from a haunted mansion, Honor ending a long feud with Courage, and a whole lot of other things."

"Power kidnapping Wisdom… is that Bowser and I?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. The book makes it pretty apparent that Power and Wisdom are royalty. At least, in the summarized version he gives every minion."

"Well, that's really interesting and all, but what does this have to do with Shade?"

"At the end of the book, it says that, if all of the Star Children were united under the same agenda, then that agenda would become the truth. In layman's terms, you and the others can either banish all evil and hate together or banish all love and joy together."

"So he wants to separate us so we can't stop him?"

"I think so."

"Blue, can I ask one last question?"

"Yeah?"

"Where is my castle?"

Blue sighed. He knew he would have to answer this sooner or later.

"You're in your castle, princess."


	3. The Loudest Masquerade

Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Bowser, and their new phantom companion, who recalled his name as Ricky T, stood behind the Goomba army as Private Goomp stated his apology.

"...I would like to say that I am sorry that I misled you all," Private Goomp said. "My possession was out of my control, but I still could've fought it. What matters now, though, is that we make up for our betrayal by following Lord Bowser to the ends of the Earth. Are you guys with me?"

Several whoops, hollers, and cheers rang out.

"Alright, then." Everyone immediate ceased talking once Bowser's voice spoke. "I believe you all know how this works." He pulled out a yellow block with the body of a Goomba marked on it. "You will take the warp zone inside this block to your station in Twinsy Tropics. I will summon you when I need your help, so be ready at any time. Private Goomp, remember to report the events of the day to me at each dawn and each dusk, effective tomorrow morning. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" The Goomba army rang out. Bowser turned the top of the block towards them and pressed a button on the side. The block opened up, and a portal showing one of the tropical islands in Twinsy Tropics was projected out of the inside. Every Goomba marched into this portal, one by one, until they were all within it. Bowser pressed the button again, and the block closed. He turned to Mario with an expression of pride on his face.

"What do you think of that, Mario? This new gadget Kammy made's gonna be a real pain in your plans once I start using it against you. Now I can have my entire army with me at all times!"

Mario definitely agreed that this block looked like a pretty dangerous tool, and he was glad that it wasn't going to be used on them. He made a mental note to destroy it later.

Ricky floated over to Luigi, his ghostly tail waving under him. "Frenemies, huh?"

Luigi told him to just wait for when he's not being so nice.

"So, what's our next course of action?" Yoshi asked. "Are we just going to cut straight through the desert?"

Mario looked towards the sunset. Dry Dry Desert may be colder in the night, but the Darklands beyond weren't friendly at any time of the day. They would need to stop for supplies in Dry Dry Outpost to make sure everyone was ready for their battle against Shade himself. He let the team know his concerns.

"Makes sense to me," Yoshi agreed.

"If we have a plan, then let's move!" Bowser called out, beginning to walk. "The sooner we get there, the sooner I get my castle back."

And so the five began a long journey across the treacherous Dry Dry Desert. The walk to Dry Dry Outpost would last well past sundown. Even still, they all had to remain on their toes. Threats from the desert's inhabitants don't just disappear in the night.

"Hey, Mario," Ricky said during their quest. "You don't exactly look much like a valiant hero. How'd you end up with a life like this?"

Mario told him of everything he needed to know. Mario and Luigi grew up with their family in one of the villages of Sunbeam Plains. Because of a baby-kidnapping incident that had happened when he was one year old, he ended up meeting a young Princess Peach. They instantly became childhood friends and visited each other in secret often. Mario still had a life to live, however, so he left to the Metro Kingdom, seeking money and a successful life. There, he rescued his first maiden - a woman named Pauline - from the city zoo's pride and joy, Donkey Kong (though he was better known as Cranky Kong because of his ill temper). Not long after, Pauline ended up becoming mayor of the capital, New Donk City, and Mario became well known throughout the Metro Kingdom because of his influence on her. She made it pretty clear to him that she was interested in pursuing a life with Mario. However, when Mario heard news of an individual named King Bowser Koopa attacking the peaceful Mushroom Kingdom and kidnapping the princess, he dropped everything to rescue her, including his relationship with Pauline.

"Wow," Ricky uttered. "That's crazy. You definitely have some kind of guardian angel, to let you adventure again and again like Luigi says you do."

Mario supposed this was likely true. He had helped the wish granting Star Spirits before, after all.

"Honestly, that kinda just made me question our situation more… why don't I remember a thing about you, who is probably the most recognized name on this planet? And, even worse, literally anything about myself?"

That was a question that only time could answer, Mario thought.

As the setting sun finally reached below the surface of the Earth, the desert finally began to cool. Bowser felt a chill go down his back. He simply shrugged it off as a reaction to the sudden temperature changes, but it started to feel more like his mind detecting a living presence. He turned to the left and suddenly saw Yoshi walking by him.

"Gah!" Bowser jumped back in shock and fell backwards onto his shell, struggling and kicking like a child. Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi helped him back up. Ricky attempted to help, but his ghostly body just phased through Bowser.

"Are you kidding me?!" Ricky exclaimed. "First I can't remember anything, now I can't do anything? Now what am I supposed to…"

Ricky trailed off when he saw Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi staring at him. Bowser was being held up in the air by an invisible force. Ricky stopped thinking about his frustrations and started worrying about Bowser. It was at that instant that he fell back on the ground.

"Did...did I do that?" Ricky asked.

Ricky tried to focus his mind on attempting this again. _Lift Bowser in the air, lift Bowser in the air…_ Ricky chanted internally, hoisting his arms into the air. As he did so, Bowser once again floated into the air. _Turn Bowser upright,_ He thought as he twisted his hands. Bowser did exactly as his mind commanded. _Bring him back to the ground, slowly this time_. He slowly returned to the ground on his feet as he brought his arms back down to his waist.

"Holy cow, I have psychokinesis!" Ricky pronounced.

"Wow, psychokinesis! You don't see magic quite like that these days…" Yoshi stated.

"Psychokinwhat now?" Bowser said, still a little confused by his physics-defying experience.

"Y'know, moving stuff with the mind." Yoshi replied.

Mario agreed with Yoshi. Usually, most magic used to move objects went through some kind of wand or spell, but Ricky was able to move things completely on his own. It would be a very useful trait.

"Hey, Mario! Do you think that perhaps I'm supposed to hybridize with you to give you this power? Maybe we should try it, just to find out."

Mario supposed that Ricky could be right.

"Well, since I'm a phantom, I can probably just…"

Ricky tried walking into Mario. When Ricky made contact, he vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Feel any different, Mario?" Yoshi asked.

Mario felt just a little different. Somehow, he could sense Ricky's presence inside of him. Mario set his hammer down on the ground and thought about lifting it in the air. His hammer followed his command. This gave Mario an idea. He grabbed his hammer, threw it, and called it back. He effectively turned his hammer into a boomerang. The moment his hammer returned to his hand, Ricky left his body.

"Well, that's cool and all, but doing that feels really weird," Ricky said. "We should probably save it for when we're actually fighting people."

The party continued into the darkness of the night, led by the fire emanating from Mario's hand. As they continued, Yoshi approached Bowser, this time making his presence more known.

"Hi."

Bowser sighed. "What do you want, Nose-for-brains?"

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry for scaring you and causing all of that commotion. It won't happen again."

"Good to hear."

"So… what are you going to do once we reach Dry Dry Outpost?

"What do you mean?"

"Well, townspeople aren't exactly fond of the people who try to destroy their kingdom all the time."

"...Dang, I wasn't even thinking about that. Guess I'll just have to hide somewhere for the night. Wait a minute, why the heck do you care?"

"You're a member of the team. Do I need a better reason?"

Bowser didn't reply. Instead, he looked towards some kind of oddity in the distance.

"Hey, Mario, what's over there?" Ricky asked, pointing in the direction of the oddity. Mario wasn't sure what it was, either. They decided to change course to investigate. As the details of the region became more apparent, the team rushed towards it. Grass, palm trees, and a pool of water greeted them in the oasis.

Yoshi quickly went to lapping up water from the pool, and Mario, Luigi, and Bowser soon followed. Ricky, being a phantom, didn't need to eat or drink, so he simply waited for the party to finish rejuvenating themselves.

"Man, I haven't felt this good in ages," Yoshi said.

Mario and Luigi couldn't help but agree. It was at this moment that Mario realized that he had been to this oasis before, during an adventure some time ago. He stood up and faced northeast, knowing that the great clay walls of Dry Dry Outpost awaited them in that direction.

"That's our destination, right?" Ricky asked, seeing the walls as well. "It looks pretty big, even from here."

Once the entire party was ready to move, they began their approach. Bowser agreed to stay outside the outpost walls while the others investigate. One step through the gateway and it was clear that Dry Dry Outpost had seen better days. Celebratory decor sprawled out all over the ground. Yoshi picked up one of the posters taped to the wall of a shop and skimmed through it.

"Apparently, some sort of wedding was tonight. It was between two mousers, a green one named Sheek and a violet one named Mousetta."

Mario recalled the name. Sheek, whose real name was Moustafa, had helped him locate the whereabouts of Dry Dry Ruins so he could rescue one of the Star Spirits some time ago. He held the entire town in the palm of his hands.

"Oh, the horror!" A female voice cried out. Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Ricky immediately took action and found Moustafa and Mousetta, dressed in wedding attire, embracing each other over a wedding cake at the end of town.

"So much money… wasted…" Mousetta cried.

"It'll be okay. We can get it back," Moustafa comforted her while drying her tears with his tiny hand. Moustafa then noticed his old friend. The two of them moved to talk with them.

"What in the world happened here…?" Ricky asked.

"Shy Guys happened," Moustafa said. "They came out of nowhere and flooded the town. So much was stolen or ruined. I overheard someone say that they had taken Sergeant Guy. Two days ago, the two of us found him on a stroll through the desert, unconscious. We brought him home with us. When he came to, he said that he was on the run from his army who betrayed him. He was looking for Bowser."

"SHEEK!" Someone shouted at the entrance of the town. Two Mousers had tied up Bowser's arms, feet and mouth with rope and carried him to the outpost.

"We found him roaming outside the outpost. He leads the Shy Guys. He must have organized the attack!"

"Oh, don't worry. He's with us," Ricky said, using psychokinesis to free Bowser's mouth.

"Oh, alri- wait, you're working with Bowser?!" The other Mouser said.

"I already told you two that!" Bowser shouted, still regaining his breath. "Gosh, you guys are morons. The world's most dangerous individual is roaming around, and your first thought is to tie him up and bring him back into town? Yeah, that'll totally help your situation."

"Curious," Moustafa said quietly. "I wouldn't think you would very much enjoy adventuring with someone quite as… rude as him."

Mario and Yoshi informed Moustafa of the situation while Ricky and Luigi freed Bowser.

"A foe able to make a castle vanish into thin air? Seems like a dangerous enemy. No offense, but I'm doubtful it would be an easy battle against Shade with just you four and small team of Goombas. Perhaps you could try to win back those Shy Guys? It would make your life just a bit easier, and save us the fear of another attack."

"Oh, absolu-" Yoshi turned towards Mario, waiting for an approval. Mario knew Moustafa was just trying to manipulate him to put himself in a better position, but that didn't make him any less right. He nodded his head.

"We'd love to help you out! We'll have this handled by dawn, we promise!" Yoshi waved goodbye to the two lovers before he and Mario met up with others.

"Bowser, what can you tell us about your Shy Guy brigade?"

"Shy Guys? Ugh. They're total wildcards. Look away for one second and-" Bowser noticed Yoshi's expression. "No. Oooooooh no. We are not going out of our way for these guys."

"Why not?!" Yoshi asked.

"It's like Mario said - the longer we wait, the easier it'll be for them to end our games. Private Goomp was in our way, but these guys aren't. What would we possibly get in return for helping them that we couldn't get ourselves?"

"Bowser, you realize that's your army you're talking about, right?" Ricky asked. "Would you leave a possible advantage like that behind?"

"It's for the best. We'll get them back anyway, once we beat up Shade."

"Alright, then," Yoshi interjected. "Let's vote on it. All in favor of heading straight for Shade?"

"...Aye," Bowser begrudgingly said.

"All in favor of helping the outpost?"

"Aye," everyone else in the party said.

"Then it's decided. Let's go!" Yoshi said, walking towards the gates out of the outpost.

"Wait!" Mousetta shouted. She and Moustafa approached Mario, no longer crying. "You crossed the entire desert just to get to this mess. Please, let us treat you to a meal. There's a restaurant not far from here, open 24 hours, 7 days a week."

Mario accepted their hospitality. Soon enough, they were seated in a nearly empty restaurant, _The Outpost Oasis_ , being treated to a surprisingly fancy meal. Knowing full well the importance of etiquette in this kind of establishment, the team was careful to utilize all of the table manners they knew… except for Bowser, who preferred gobbling his food down like mad.

"So," Moustafa began. "How do you plan on getting to them?"

"I'm not really sure," Yoshi replied. "I planned on asking Bowser what we could do about them."

"If it helps at all, I know that they came from directly south of here," Mousetta said.

"Of course," Bowser interjected after swallowing his food. "They came from Bumpsy Estate."

"Bumpsy Estate?" Ricky said.

"A mansion Sergeant Guy and I built in Bumpsy Plains for him to reside when not on duty. Worst decision of my life. The Shy Guy brigade parties there every week. We have to wait for them to finish before we can do anything. 'If it wasn't successful, it was the Shy Guys' fault,' kinda became a recurring joke in our ranks because of it."

"So you know how to get inside?"

"That's the problem: I designed the place so the only way to enter is through the front door, and it's always guarded. They'll probably only let people on the invited list in."

"Interesting…" Moustafa said. "Could you disguise yourselves as Shy Guys to avoid detection?"

Bowser shook his head. "We're too big to be Shy Guys. We'd just raise more suspicion. Not everyone at those parties are Shy Guys. I would know: my kids have gone to them before. All you need is some kind of strange or abnormal outfit and celebrity status and you can go in."

"Oh, I have an idea!" Mousetta proclaimed. "There's a brilliant tailor in town. He made the beautiful tuxedo and dress Moustafa and I are wearing. He says he works with a line of stores called Crazy Cap. Maybe, for a few coins, he could make you five some disguises!"

Mario said that sounded like a good idea. After receiving directions to reach him, the party bid their two friends farewell, paid their 380-coin bill, and left for the tailor.

Their quest brought them to one of the most luxurious-looking homes in the outpost. Instead of being constructed of clay, it was built using bricks, stone, and mortar, much like the homes of Toad Town. On the door was a 'closed' sign. Knowing full well it was very late at night, Mario knocked on the door. Almost instantly, quiet footsteps approached them. A red Mouser holding a candle opened the door.

"Can't you read the sign…? I'm closed for the day. Please ju-" The Mouser realized who he was talking to. "Oh! The great and mighty Mario…? And the dangerous Bowser…?! Please, come in! The doors of _Moustonny's Fitters_ are always open to celebrities…"

The five entered and found themselves standing in front of a dozen isles of what looked like hundreds of clothing articles, from hats to boots. The Mouser, who they assumed was most likely Moustonny, led them to a cash register in the back.

"So, what do you need?" Moustonny said, hopping over the counter.

"Four custom-made outfits," Bowser said.

"...Custom-made? I hate to be rude, but… it's after hours and I'm about ready to turn in for the night. I simply cannot fill in any cust…"

Moustonny stopped in his tracks when Mario pulled out his giant stack of money.

"...Okay, I think I can do that. What do you need these for?"

"We're getting revenge on the guys that trampled your town."

"Ooooh, espionage!" Moustonny said.

"Ehh, more like break-and-enter," Ricky replied.

"...Riiiiiight… Anyway, I'll need your body sizes…" Suddenly, he jumped back over the counter and darted around them, using a ruler to measure their heights and widths, and then returned back to his original position, all in the span of five seconds. "Perfect. One hour and they'll be done. It's 150 coins for the Bros, 175 coins for Yoshi because the hole the tail will need, and 250 for Bowser because of his size. That totals at 725 coins. Do we have a deal?"

Mario handed him the money.

"Perfect. Oh, wait! You never specified what kind of outfit you four wanted."

"Hmmm… I don't have much of a preference," Yoshi answered. "Just do something that'll make us look like different people."

"Different people…" Moustonny closed his eyes and pondered his options. Suddenly, an epiphany occurred in the head of the mouser, and he gave his customers a wicked smile.

"I think I have a few ideas in mind…"

* * *

As Mario continued onwards through the savanna of Bumpsy Plains, he continued to ask himself if sacrificing his Fire Flower's power for this outfit was really a good idea. The baseball cap-styled hat, the red shoes, the polka dotted shorts, the highly clashing red and whites on his open shirt and blues and yellows on his undershirt… he couldn't tell if he was designed as a country club member or a hippie. In his opinion, Luigi had it far better than him - his gangster-like design totally contrasted his usual self, but it somehow really worked well. Yoshi was definitely the best dressed out of all of them, though. The sailor outfit, with a pure white shirt and plaid blue shorts only boosted how cute he was, and he also seemed surprisingly comfortable in it, considering he rarely wore clothes anyway. Poor Bowser, on the other hand, was shocked by his outfit. He protested becoming what he called 'Daddy Bowser' so much that he actually refused to move once he had it on. It took the powers of Ricky to make him mobile.

As they proceeded, they each noticed the ground seeming to vibrate. It didn't take much smarts to realize that some very loud music was causing the tiny tremors. Using the power of the shaking as a guide, they soon found themselves in front of the great Bumpsy Estate. Despite being created by Bowser, it seemed very fancy and well done.

"Here we are," Ricky proclaimed, dropping Bowser to his stomach.

"This is humiliating…" Bowser grumbled as he stood back up.

"You think we're not embarrassed ourselves?" Yoshi said. "I think all of us would rather be in our regular clothing, or in yours and my case, the lack of clothing. Let's just get Sergeant Guy out of here as fast as possible so we can change back."

As they entered the courtyard, Ricky hybridized with Mario to avoid detection. The path to the front door was surrounded by a long maze of grass and flowers wrapping around the entire mansion. The group walked around the large fountain in front of them that contained a statue of a Birdo with water flowing out of its mouth. Finally, they met with the two Shy Guys in front of the main entrance.

"Names?" The red one on the left asked.

It was then that Mario realized that they probably should have thought this through more. If he told them their real names, they'd be caught for sure, but if they retreated and discussed names, they'd realize that they're fake. He pondered what to-

"Are you kidding?" Yoshi interjected. "How could you not know the famous Daddy B?"

"Who?"

"Wh-" Bowser tried to ask something, but the look in Yoshi's eyes showed him exactly what he needed to do. "...Wow, you really are dense. I'm one of the greatest rappers in the Mushroom Kingdom! Have you never heard my work?"

"...Nope, not really," The blue one on the right replied. "You look more like a businessman than a rapper."

"I'll have you know that this style is in right now. I would know: I'm both his manager and his fashion designer," Yoshi stated. Mario noticed just how much Yoshi was getting into the role here; he nailed the snarky businessman voice perfectly. "Surely, you at least have heard of his apprentice, Luggy? Or his music video choreographer, Marty?"

Both of them shook their head. "Neither of you even remotely look like you're in the music business," the red one said.

Bowser towered over the two with a slightly menacing stature. "Well, guess what? We are. And, last time I checked, famous celebrities get a free pass in."

They stood in silence for a moment.

"Alright, then," The blue one said. "If you really are a band of musicians, perform a song for us. If you're good, we might let you in."

"We accept your challenge," Yoshi replied. "But, uh, we're gonna need something that plays music."

The red one turned towards the blue one. "We have spare radios in the back, right?"

"Yep."

"Here, let me go get it."

The red one opened the door, and the team got their first glimpse of the party. Even at a distance, they could tell the foyer was infested with Shy Guys. The loud music blaring finally came at them with full force. Then, in a fraction of the second, the door was closed back, and all of the emotions found inside were concealed once again.

"Hey, we're gonna need some time alone," Bowser stated. "Y'know, vocal warmups and stuff."

The party walked away from the Shy Guy. Once they were a decent distance away, they darted inside the grass maze.

"Please, please tell me you know how to sing," Yoshi whispered.

"Of course I don't!" Bowser said as loud as he could in a whispering voice. "The only thing my voice is good for is shouting and spitting fire… literally. What the heck were you thinking?!"

"I don't know! I was coming up with that on the spot. I'm sorry, okay?" Yoshi said. "I'll make a Plan B. Just give me a moment..." Yoshi peeked past the garden maze and analyzed the entrance. He glared at the area for several seconds, hoping to find something, anything, to help them. The Bros. could tell by the expression on his face that he had found his answer. He moved back into the safety of the grass maze and faced the team.

"Okay, so!" Yoshi began. "There are two buttons in each place where a guard's supposed to be. It's probably a panic button, and if anyone starts attacking them, they're supposed to press it to alert the higher-ups."

"Weird, don't remember that in the blueprints…" Bowser interjected.

"Shade probably added it because he knew we were coming. Right now, there's only one guard. If we knock him out, no one will be there to press it." This prompted Mario to suggest a course of action. Everyone agreed on it. While Bowser approached the remaining guard, Luigi ran over to the side of the maze, right next to the entrance, while Yoshi quickly jotted down a note Mario asked him to write after handing him a pencil and a piece of paper.

"Alright, I'm ready. Is the beatbox here yet?"

"Nope. He should be out in just a-"

With no warning, Luigi threw his hammer over the wall, hitting nobody in particular.

"...What the heck?" The Shy Guy stated. He walked over to the hammer and looked down at it. "Where did this co-"

Suddenly, the hammer flew upward and slammed the Shy Guy in the face. He was knocked out by the blow. Mario then brought the hammer to his hand and returned it to Luigi. Bowser, tall enough to see over the maze's walls, picked up the Shy Guy and put him in the area Luigi had thrown his hammer from. Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi met back up with Bowser and put a note stating that he had left with Daddy B because he discovered an opportunity to get his dream job: a dancer. Then, the group entered the foyer.

The energy they had felt previously had been maintained. A gigantic hoard of Shy Guys surrounded one Pink Shy Guy managing the position of DJ. Lining the walls were tables of assorted candies and small foods. These foods also were sprawled all over the floors, wearing away at what was one a very fancy-looking mansion.

"Stick together," Yoshi spoke into each of his companion's' ears. The team ducked into a left corner to avoid detection. This was fortunately well timed, as the Shy Guy trying to bring the boombox outside passed through the crowd. Yoshi's words were quickly forgotten as everyone separated to find where Sergeant Guy was being kept.

From then on, every memory came as a blur to Mario. Every minute meshed into moments of loud music, passing through a tight crowd, peeking into hallways when staff wasn't running through them, and feasting on the some of the nicer meals available on the tables, somehow still having an appetite after eating at The Outpost Oasis. With each passing moment, Mario felt more and more dazed and lost. He found himself checking halls he already passed through, nearly tripping on nothing, and completely forgetting their objective. Eventually, it all proved to be too much, and he collapsed.

* * *

Mario came to on a violet couch in a random hallway. He felt exhausted, as if he just ran from one end of the kingdom to another. He brought a hand up to hold his throbbing head, but stopped his hand in his tracks to examine them. His gloves seemed to be stained with some kind of red powder.

At that moment, Ricky separated from Mario and fell on the ground, panting like a dog.

"Oh my gosh, that was… torture," Ricky stated. "Mental note… I can't leave your body when… You're unconscious."

Mario looked around the hall and saw a picture that worried him. He came closer to it to read it better. _Intruders_ , it was titled, with hand-drawn pictures of Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Bowser's faces just below. _These trespassers lied and cheated our way into our facility. If seen, please alert the staff. 500 coin reward._

"Well, shoot," Ricky said after finally floating normally again. "Now we can't go through the foyer…"

Suddenly, they heard two voices coming down the hallway. Ricky hybrided with Mario again as he laid back on the couch and put one of the pilliows lying on it over his head.

"...and then he face planted. Probably his first party. He took it all in too fast," One of the Shy Guys passing by said. Mario couldn't help but smile. Oh, how little they knew…

"Wow. He looks almost as pathetic as Sergeant Guy did when I visited his cell."

"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to drop by his cell. Any idea where it is?"

"Just beside the kitchen. It's locked, though. You'll need Jester Guy's permission."

The Shy Guy sighed. "I don't like this Jester Guy very much. He feels so… dishonest."

"Hey, I don't like him either. But, until they get that Mirage Soul out of Sergeant Guy somehow, we'll just have to cope." And with that, both of them turned out of the hall, and they were alone again.

"...Mirage Soul?" Ricky said as Mario got off the couch again. "There's more than one of me...? We gotta go find him!" The two ran off, searching for the kitchen. Luckily, one turn to the right and they had a straight path to the kitchen.

"How are we going to get to him if his door is locked?" Ricky asked. Mario answered by simply pointing at what looked like a large grate. Ricky seemed to understand.

For such a large mansion, the kitchen seemed abnormally small. There were two islands in the middle of the room, surrounded by an impressive amount of symmetry between each side, from the drawers, to the microwaves, and even the two refrigerators on the walls.

Mario passed between the two islands and came down to his knees in front of the grate. Ricky removed one of the screws by making a spinning motion with his pointer finger, but before they could do anything else, they began hearing footsteps coming from the western entrance. Mario crawled behind one of the islands. A Green Shy Guy passed through the room carrying a glass plate with a Courage Meal atop it. Ricky made an upward motion with his hand, and the plate lifted into the air.

The Shy Guy began to panic, and tried grabbing it out of the air, but Ricky moved it away each time he jumped for it. Eventually, a purple Shy Guy saw the commotion and joined him. Ricky toyed with them for a few more seconds, until he suddenly let the plate drop and then clapped his hands. The Shy Guys were rammed into each other and both were knocked out.

"C'mon, before more guys show up after hearing that plate crash," Ricky said. He quickly got back to work, and soon enough they were crawling within the air ducts. They eventually passed another grate, this one being within Sergeant Guy's cell. The only two things inside were a bed and Sergeant Guy himself. Ricky was about to unscrew the grate when they heard shouting coming from elsewhere. Mario recognized three voices - his crew.

The two of them traced the source of the voices to another grate. This time, they were above the room in particular, which seemed to be designed as some kind of throne room. A red carpet ran across the white tile floor from the doorway to a throne inhabited by a strange-looking Shy Guy. He held a color scheme of purple and orange, and the top of his cloak was pushed downward by four bells hanging on the ends of his cloak, much like a jester's hat. All around the room were other Shy Guys of all the colors of the rainbow. Mario presumed that one in the throne must be Jester Guy, a member of Shade's army, and the current leader of the Shy Guys.

Mario then saw the reason he had heard Luigi's, Yoshi's, and Bowser's voices: they had been discovered and taken captive. They had been pushed into Mario's view from the grate, each in handcuffs. Jester Guy hopped off of his throne and approached their prisoners.

"Well, if it isn't our former king, working with our greatest enemies," Jester Guy stated.

"Only because I was thrown out of my castle and backstabbed by my men," Bowser remarked.

"Last time I saw you, you said you were leaving us for dead because you were tired of our incompetence."

"What are you talking about?" Yoshi interjected. "A king would never turn against his own people."

Jester Guy turned his head towards the new speaker. "Oh? And who are you to talk? Are you a part of his army? Have you been with him since he was born?"

Yoshi said nothing.

"He's right, though," Bowser said. "I don't know a thing about what you're talking about. You barely even have a place to talk; You were my entertainer, and a pretty poor one at that. No wonder I fired you at five years old."

"Then you got an even worse leader for the Shy Guys."

"General Guy was not a bad leader."

"Really? Then, remind me, Shy Guys… who was demoted all the way to Sergeant after their first major mission?"

The name 'Sergeant Guy' was uttered by many in the Shy Guy crowd.

"That demotion was more metaphorical than anything. He proved himself to be a bad general, so I made him a sergeant. Absolutely nothing else has changed about him. And look at him now! His battalion has become one of my favorites. Sure, they're a bit clumsy, but they have heart: Something we need in this army."

"But what are they doing with that? Nothing. They just party all day and all night, never getting anything done. The only reason that we're doing it now is to get their deranged ideas of parties out of the way."

"Really? You call yourself Jester Guy, yet you don't want your army to enjoy themselves? No wonder I fired you. You don't even have a sense of humor!"

"Well, guess whose opinions no longer matter? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a red plumber to catc-"

Suddenly, Ricky unscrewed the grate and let it fall to the ground. Jester Guy, who had just so happened to have been standing under the grate, hopped out of the way to avoid being struck.

"...Who did that?" Jester Guy said. "Who. Did. That?!"

Mario and Ricky jumped out of the air ducts. Mario hit the ground with a thud, while Ricky simply floated down.

"Mario!" Yoshi exclaimed with glee.

"Looks like my prey has come right to me," Jester Guy said. "How convenient." He then reached into something Mario had not previously noticed: a large satchel on his belt. He pulled out a whip from it. Mario realized that this satchel must contain the same properties as his overalls.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this. Time for you to get the beating you deserve!"

Suddenly, a loud bang rang out. The wall in the back of the room crumbled before them, creating a new wall of dust and debris. From this dust emerged a strangely colored tank that looked much like a toy carriage. Mario recognized the tank from their battle with who was now Sergeant Guy in Shy Guy's Toy Box, though, unlike last time, a blue cannon protruded out of it. Once again, Sergeant Guy was commanding it.

"What the-?!" Jester Guy shouted. Chaos ensued. Shy Guys dashed around everywhere, as each one took sides with the ruler they believed was right. Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Bowser, and Ricky all darted away from the center of the room to avoid being crushed by the advancing tank, Mario, Ricky and Yoshi on the left, and Luigi and Bowser on the right.

Sergeant Guy opened the glass hatch of the tank and turned towards his king. "Long time, no see, Lord Bowser!" He shouted out.

"Yeah, you too!" Bowser replied. Sergeant Guy closed the hatch and continued his attack.

Ricky took advantage of the moment and tried to remove Yoshi's handcuffs. He put his hands together and then separated them. The handcuffs opened up, and Yoshi was free.

Meanwhile, Jester Guy was trying to hold his own. A Shy Guy tried to jump on him, but his whip sent him flying backwards. Two more tried to tackle him, so he jumped and let them crash into each other. As he did this, he pulled a Propeller Mushroom out of his satchel, slipped it under his mask, and consumed it, turning the top of his cloak into a large propeller, still with bells hanging on the end. He ascended into the air, escaping the madness erupting below. His rise put him at about the same height as Sergeant Guy's control region. He pulled out a pop gun from the satchel and fired two corks. Each hit sent a crack through the glass that acted as Sergeant Guy's only protection.

Yoshi acted quickly. He flicked out his far-reaching tongue, grabbed onto the pop gun, and yanked it out of Jester Guy's hands as he returned back to the ground. Mario met him back on the floor, ready to strike with his hammer, but Jester Guy was able to float away from the plumber. He was just about to spin back into the air when Bowser slugged him from the side. He had been able to destroy his own handcuffs, using his fire breath that would melt the steel but not his highly fire-resistant scales.

Jester Guy quickly realized how outmatched he was. No one in the entire Shy Guy army was on his side. He chose to make a tactical retreat. He utilized his propellor ability to travel over the tank.

"Not so fast!" Sergeant Guy shouted as he pushed his glass cover open and pointed his wand at Jester Guy. A blast of the iconic shapes of magic the Koopa Army uses erupted from the wand and struck Jester Guy. He lost his Propeller Mushroom's power and fell on top of the tank. After ensuring that the tank was straight and stable, he hopped out of his controls, ready to duel against the madman.

"Oh, you don't know how long I've waited for this," Jester Guy said as he pulled out his own wand from the satchel. From there, a flurry of magic spells were sent casting in every direction. Sergeant Guy had an advantage against Jester Guy, though - the glass cover was the perfect protection from his attacks. While Jester Guy fired away like mad, Sergeant Guy kept his cool and only breached his cover to fire when necessary. Eventually, one hit landed right in Jester Guy's face, causing him to lose his balance and fall off the tank.

The moment he hit the floor, he got back up and ran for his life. The Shy Guy army was not far behind him. Quickly, he dashed up the stairs from the basement, journeyed to the foyer, and ran out of the mansion. The Shy Guys pursued him until he left the courtyard, and then simply watched him run away into the wilderness.

* * *

Peach pondered her options as she lay on the cold floor with her eyes staring straight at the game. She and Blue were playing Pit of 100 Trials. It was a puzzle game in which up to four players must travel through 100 floors of puzzles created by the 'Pitmaster', who was Blue in this game. It was a long and difficult experience, but that had only attracted Peach more to it. It was so different compared to the simpler, more family friendly games found on store shelves. However, Peach had difficulty actually finding people to play with. The only time that she could get people to play was when she brought it to one of Mario's parties, and even then the group would start to tire of the game after just 25 floors. She was happy that someone else was so willing to satisfy her desire to play more, even if he was only doing it to keep her imprisoned. At least it was a nice distraction from the knowledge that her castle had been deconstructed to create a prison.

She was currently only on floor 29, and the going was already getting tough. She had been brought to a setup of what looked like a Chess game in the middle of the play. To show this, Blue had set up a chess board showing each piece and its position. According to Blue, a sign on the wall read, "This game can be completed here and now. Finish it for these missing players." This would have been easy, if Peach played Chess more often. Sure, she had tried with the Bros. a few times, but the mechanics of each piece went in one ear and out the other. Worse yet, any failed move would result in a loss of one of her ten attempts, and if she lost them all, she would have to begin from floor 1. Thanks to the internet, she had discovered that the best method of playing is to keep all of your attempts until floor 90 and then use them all to skip the final floors. If she couldn't even beat floor 29, what chance did she stand against floor 100?

She stared at the board for what felt like hours, hoping for some sort of opening. She thought back to her games with the Bros. She recalled a time when Luigi jokingly said that his favorite piece was… wait a minute! Peach realized that one of her knights was in perfect position to take down the king. She picked it up and struck the king with it. "Checkmate!" She shouted victoriously.

"Nice work," Blue congratulated. "Another Warp Pipe appears in the room, and you proceed deeper into the depths. Within Floor 30, you find nothing in the room but a single notebook lying on the floor and a pen lying atop it." While he reached behind him for more of his props, Peach continued to stare at Blue suspiciously. Ever since he had came back with information on this Shade person, Peach had begun to feel a strange sensation - one that you feel when you meet someone you know you should know, but have completely forgotten about. She tried to shake it off as Blue handed her a pen and a notebook. Peach opened it up to the first page. It read:

 _Circle the correct answer to each question._

 _A. Okay_

 _B. Okay_

 _C. Okay_

 _D. Okay_

Peach had to keep herself from giggling as she circled A and turned the page.

 _What floor are you on?_

 _A. 29_

 _B. 46_

 _C. 11_

 _D. 30_

Peach circled D. "Wow, if every question is this easy, then I have no worr-" Her thought completely dissolved as she glanced at the next question.

 _Who is Shade?_

 _A. My current boss_

 _B. The guy who threw Bowser out of his own castle_

 _C. Your kidnapper_

 _D. All of the above_

 _Oh no_ , Peach could only think. This wasn't a test: this was Blue's explanation of everything he was and had been doing. She feared what was within, as she knew about the security camera tucked away in the corner of the room that would catch any talk of betrayal. In this book, however, Blue could write down anything he wanted. She circled D and flipped the page, dreading its contents.

 _What does Shade want with you?_

 _A. To prevent you from completing the prophecy_

 _B. To force you to ally with him by changing how you think_

 _C. To revive the Shadow Queen and put her back in your body_

 _D. All of the above_

No. No, it couldn't be. She vividly remembered the last time she had encountered the fiend. She couldn't go through it again, not after that. She already knew that A was correct, so she chose D once again.

 _Why did I join the Koopa Bros.?_

 _A. Because I could_

 _B. I was chosen_

 _C. to investigate Shade_

 _D. All of the above_

She was still thankful for the change in pace, but her curiosity was still piqued. She had noticed something strange about answer C. All other answers in the notebook had started with a capital letter, but this answer started with a lowercase letter. She noticed that combining it with the previous answer created a phrase: _I was chosen to investigate Shade._ Chosen? By whom? Were the Koopa Bros. involved? Was she looking too deep into what could just be an error? She decided to quell her questions and simply circle both B and C.

 _What am I going to do with you?_

 _A. Protect you_

 _B. Ensure you are updated on what's going on_

 _C. Bust you out_

 _D. All of the above_

Peach gasped at the question. She glanced up at the Koopa and saw the expression on his face. That expression… she knew what he intended to do. She circled D.

 _Am I the only one here trying to help you?_

 _A. Yes_

 _B. No_

 _C. No, but they aren't ready yet_

 _D. Don't know_

Once again, Peach glanced up at Blue. He quickly glanced at the security camera. _Of course!_ Peach thought. She and Blue would not be able to escape if a security camera was always watching them. Someone who was in on the plan would have to man the cameras to keep her out of sight. However, if this individual really was there, they would have escaped already. She chose to circle C and flipped the page.

 _Who am I?_

 _A. Kooper_

 _B. Blue_

 _C. Goombario_

 _D. All of the above_

Peach took yet another look at Blue and instantly saw it. She recalled the one time Bowser had stolen the Star Rod from Star Haven and used it to boost his power. Peach watched Mario and his partners fight him from afar. Blue's eyes… those were the very same eyes as the Koopa who had valiantly brawled against the king. Peach had to keep herself from facepalming. How had she not seen it before? She circled A. Peach skimmed through the rest of the book's blank contents to ensure no further questions were present. Then, she wrote down a note from her to him.

 _Thank you, Kooper,_ she wrote. _You have no idea how much I appreciate this. Whenever you two are ready to get out of here, I'll be right there with you. Then we can help Mario finish this once and for all._ She then handed it back to Kooper. He skimmed through the book.

"All of your answers are correct. Good job," Kooper said.

"Thanks, but I'm getting a little tired. Why don't we save the next floors for later?" Peach suggested.

"Yeah, I'm getting tired too. Good thing they gave both of us a bed so neither of us would freeze on the floor, hehe."

"Agreed."

"I'm gonna need a moment, though. See you in a second." Kooper stood up and left the room.

The Koopa found himself roaming the lobby once again. Within the room were two couches facing a fireplace. _Guards, burn gifts given to you here,_ said a plaque over the fireplace. He dropped the notebook into the fire and watched it burn to a crisp. Once he turned around, he saw the pink Goomba he had came here with in the lobby. Knowing that security cameras were hanging over them, the two of them simply exchanged a glance before Kooper returned to Peach's room, ready to make their move when it came time.

* * *

"...How tragic. We all thought Jester Guy could lead the Shy Guys without effort, but it seems we were incorrect," Hazel concluded her status report.

"Tragic indeed," Shade replied. "Now, where is that new host we found?"

"We have people working on it. There's no need to worry, sir. Once we have our hands on Mario, there will be no need for them."

Shade scowled. "Have you not read the book, Hazel? You know how resistant Mario is. He's survived countless wars and battles, saved the multiverse, and even ventured into a black hole and survived."

"Last time I checked, you didn't exactly read the whole thing either."

"I am a busy Magikoopa, I don't have time to. I gave a censored version to our minions so that they can do the reading. Even with my incomplete knowledge, though, it's very clear that he won't go down without a fight. Do you think we can even capture him?"

"We can capture him if we play our cards right. Like, for example, not sending out our Shy Guy forces to trample a town and reveal their location."

"And let important information into the enemy's hands?"

"They went after Sergeant Guy anyway! The only thing that changed was how long it took them to get that information. Regardless, they're going to be coming our way today, and I have just the plan to get the four of them into our hands… if you don't screw this one up, that is."

Shade let Hazel continue. There was no point in fighting her on his decision to restore entry to the castle for a few seconds before warping the whole thing away, which ultimately subtracted how many prisoners they got instead of added. It would just lead into an argument that no one wanted.

"So, first off, I'll need you to be ready, because this is going to take a whole lot of your power…"


	4. Shadow's Climax

Luigi burst through the door of his and Mario's master bedroom's bathroom. The morning sun glared at him from the window at the side of the room, but he didn't care. He was just glad he was finally back in his old clothing. He had appreciated what Moustonny had made for them, but the gangster outfit just wasn't his style. Mario, lying on his side of the bed with his Mailbox SP, seemed pretty happy to have returned to his old clothing as well. He had started a video chat with Moustafa and Mousetta to tell them the news.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Mousetta exclaimed. "We can't explain how much we appreciate what you did for us. And you even got them to bring our stolen wedding decorations back?!"

Mario explained that Bowser had ordered the Shy Guy brigade to return all of what they stole from their wedding back to their owners.

"Excellent," Moustafa said. "Now that they're here, we'll supply them with what we can so they can make their way to you. I assume you won't be able to attend our wedding yourself?"

Mario thanked them for the offer, but said he had to handle Shade first.

"We understand," Mousetta said. "But be sure to talk to us if you ever need us, alright?"

Mario nodded.

"Good luck out there," Moustafa concluded as he cut off the voice chat.

"I still have no idea what to think about those two," Ricky commented. "I don't know if they're trying to be nice or manipulative."

Mario understood perfectly.

"Y'know, while trying to sleep on the floor, I started wondering why Jester Guy would say there was a Mirage Soul inside of Sergeant Guy. Why would a Mirage Soul be needed to control him? I'm sure there are far more easy methods of controlling others than forced possession…"

Mario told him, while mind control magic did exist in his world, it was an exceedingly rare trait and not many living beings could use it. This was perhaps Shade's only option.

Suddenly, Mario's Mailbox SP vibrated. He had received a message from Yoshi.

 _Have you seen the pantry down here? This food is fantastic! We'll definitely need to pack some for the road._

Mario replied to him saying that he would check it out. He then received another message, this time from an unknown number.

 _Hey there, it's Moustonny. I hope this is the right number. I kinda checked your Mailbox XP while you were in the changing room._

Mario felt violated.

 _Anyway, I have to say I really enjoyed making your outfit in particular. I was really hoping to make more like that one, but I sort of need your permission to do so. I'm calling it the_ Fashionable Outfit.

How one could see that mess of color as fashionable, Mario wasn't sure. Regardless, he said that he didn't care what he did with the design.

 _Thank you so much!_

After that reply was sent, Mario immediately went to block the contact. Still bored, he decided to sift through his list of messages. Quickly he was filled with nostalgia as he saw conversations that ended long ago with old friends he hadn't seen in a long time. Goombario, his biggest fan… Lady Bow, the master of hijinks… Admiral Bobbery, the sailor… Ms. Mowz, the badge thief… Prince Mallow… he wondered what they were doing now.

Mario, Luigi, and Ricky heard Private Goomp and Bowser discussing matters in the room across from them.

"Nothing of interest has happened with us, Lord Bowser," Private Goomp stated. "Have to say, I like what you did with your hair."

"It was for an outfit I'd prefer to never mention again. Though the compliment is still appreciated, Private. For someone who wants to outdo me, you sure do know how to catch my attention."

"O-outdo you? W-where did you get that idea…?"

"Aww, c'mon. You begged for me to turn you into a Goomba King that was bigger than me. That's kind of a red flag right there. I don't take it as defiance, though - everyone wants to be me." Bowser let out a hearty laugh.

"Man. For someone who's supposed to be evil, he sure does think highly of his people," Ricky said.

Mario couldn't help but think about that. His own minions seem to lack trust in him, yet they follow him religiously anyway. How could someone so evil and self-centered be so… good at leading?

Luigi snapped Mario out of his train of thought. He asked where he should hang the clothes they had worn, which were nicely folded in Luigi's arms. Mario gave him directions to the main closet and then asked him to grab some food out of the pantry for the trip ahead. He agreed to it and left Mario alone in the room.

Mario then went back to his messages. As he continued reading through them, a trickle of guilt began manifesting in his thoughts. His last conversation with Goombella? Three months ago. His last message to Vivian, who he knew fully well had a crush on him? Six months ago. And he never even bothered to reply to Watt's first message. The moment his friends left his life, he just began cutting ties with each one until, eventually, it was like they never met. He wondered if they still thought of him.

Mario opened up the list of his and Kooper's messages. Neither of them had spoken in five months. It was a shameful thing to think of, knowing how much he had liked and cared about the Koopa. He decided to send him a message. Nothing major, just something saying hello and asking him how he was. He hoped desperately that, despite his own absence, Kooper would be willing to begin speaking with him again. He put his device back in his overalls and told Ricky he was almost ready to move. He took one last sip of water from their bathroom sink, and then the two of them headed back down to the foyer. Luigi and Yoshi were already waiting for him.

"Hey!" Yoshi called out. "Have you seen Bowser?"

Mario was about to say he was still preparing, but at that moment, Bowser descended the stairs as well.

"Oh, you're already down here? Excellent. That means we won't have to wait to set out," Bowser said as he made his way to the front door. Not longer after, Bumpsy Estate was behind him. All of them were thankful that their journey took them to a place they could easily sleep in, rather than some sort of trap-filled ruins or sacred grounds. This way, they'll be fully energized for their battle against Shade and his forces.

The land around them lost its brilliant bright green color as it was slowly substituted for yellow sand. The plant life began to devolve, as bushes and wildlife began to vanish, leaving only palm trees to show the way. Eventually, they were back in the territory of Dry Dry Desert, this time with heat coming at full force. However, none of the five of them were demotivated by the hostile environment. They soon found themselves at the great wooden bridge over a canyon splitting the desert from the Darklands - the apocalyptic region usually of Bowser's control. The Shy Guy brigade was there waiting for them.

"Lord Bowser, sir!" Sergeant Guy said. "We're all ready."

"Good to hear. All of you, to Twinsy Tropics!" Bowser called out as he utilized the newly-named Minion Block. Every Shy Guy hurried into the portal created by it.

Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Bowser, and Ricky stood just in front of the bridge.

"Are you guys ready?" Ricky asked.

"Yeah," Yoshi replied. "The going hasn't been easy, but after what we already experienced, I think we can do this."

"This is my home we're talking about. I know what we need to do to navigate the place," Bowser said.

Mario was the first to step onto the bridge. His team followed behind, nearly in perfect step with him. _We can do this,_ Mario reassured himself. _We can-_

 _SNAP!_

Suddenly, the entire bridge split in two, each side falling to its respective end. Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi quickly hung on as the side connected to the Darklands slammed against the dirt wall, while Ricky was tugged away from his original position due to his distance from Mario being limited. However, he was still able to suspend Bowser, who otherwise would have fallen into the labyrinth below. Once movement on the bridge stopped, Ricky moved Bowser back to flat grounds while the remaining three climbed up the bridge like a ladder.

"Maybe we should've taken turns crossing…" Yoshi said as he reached the top.

"Yeah, no duh," Bowser snarkily replied.

The five chose to press onward into the Darklands.

"This place makes the desert look like the safest place in the world…" Ricky commented. No one in the team disagreed with this statement, not even Bowser. It was clear that whatever peaceful lands that had once been here had been utterly ravaged by volcanoes, burning away the grass and dirt, leaving an ugly gray stone in its place. Rivers of lava lined the ground, forcing the team to leap over pits of certain death.

Mario couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if the Darklands weren't separated from the rest of the kingdom by a chasm. Would the entire Mushroom Kingdom have experienced the same apocalyptic scenario as the Koopa Kingdom? He decided to shrug the questions off. He couldn't see alternate timelines, so he couldn't answer them anyway.

Eventually, the party found themselves barred in their path. They had come across a very tall gap filled with lava, almost as wide as the canyon they had crossed not long ago. The only notable way across - a narrow pathway - had been blocked off by a large boulder.

"I can handle that," Ricky stated. He made a pushing motion with his arms. The rock tilted slightly, but not enough to send it over the edge. He felt as if he was actually pushing the heavy rock. Unable to hold on any longer, Ricky let go of the boulder and it moved back into place.

"Okay, maybe I can't handle that. A little help, Mario…?" Mario obliged. The two of them hybridized together once again. While Ricky's mental and physical shape wasn't strong enough to push the boulder, Mario's was powerful enough to tip it over. It slammed into the lava pool, sending lava charging up the chasm's walls, only for them to return back into the river before they could breach the surface. The lava wasn't what the team had been worrying about, however - they were more concerned about the individual stumbling towards them.

"Lord… Bowser…" was all Corporal Paraplonk could say before he fell to the ground. Instantly, the four ran across the land bridge and gathered around him. The paratroopa looked badly beaten, with bruises and scratches all over his body and shell.

"Corporal?! What happened to you?" Bowser said, shocked to see his third royal guard in such a condition.

"They tried to trick us… but the three of us hadn't been fooled. We tried to escape, but only Sergeant Guy managed to get out… They punished me and Private Goomp by beating us up… but I escaped after they finished… I've been trying so hard to leave the Darklands, but I'm so weak that I can't even move my… wings…" Paraplonk tried to push off the ground with his hands, but he could barely muster the energy.

"How long have you been out here…?" Yoshi asked.

"Two days… I think…?"

"I don't like those numbers, Corporal. You know the Darklands has no sustainable life without outside assistance. I would never think you would take such a risk."

"How could you think that, Bowser?!" Yoshi exclaimed. "Look at him. Does he look like he's doing fine? He was tortured in there before he even tried to escape."

"The dinosaur is right, Lord Bowser… It was worse there than it is out here…"

"This is no time to be objective. His life's at stake here! He could die! We have to help him. Right, Mario?"

Mario thought both of them had a point. Roaming the Darklands like he had nearly guaranteed death. However, leaving him to die just because it could be a trick would make them no better than the enemies Paraplonk was trying to escape. Mario decided to follow Yoshi's advice. He asked Luigi to provide Paraplonk some of the food from Bumpsy Estate.

"Thank you…" Paraplonk said as he took a Tasty Tonic out of Luigi's hand and guzzled it down his throat. He was offered a good chunk of the food and water they had taken from Bumpsy Estate.

"You're headed to the Tower of Shade, right…?" He said as he slowly stood back up.

"Tower of Shade? He reconstructed my castle?" Bowser said.

"Yes… it's just as intimidating on the outside as it is on the inside…"

"Corporal, we were about to go and take on Shade, but if you need one of my men to escort you to safety-"

"N...no," Paraplonk replied. "I… I don't want to be a detriment. I'll just… stay in the back. You guys are a higher priority. They wouldn't waste their energy on me…"

"I understand," Bowser said.

Yoshi walked up to Mario. "Whenever you're ready."

Mario and Yoshi pressed forward, with Luigi and Bowser accompanying Corporal Paraplonk to insure his ability to continue. The group came across a tall hill. When they reached the top, the Tower of Shade could be seen. From that distance, the tower seemed to have the same diameter as Bowser's Castle, but this structure reached far into the sky. The building was constructed using what looked to be purple-colored bricks. Mario noticed that the tower wasn't actually built on top of the castle, but rather over a gigantic chasm near the castle that was usually filled with lava. In the distance, he thought that he could see some members of Bowser's army in front of a tall gray wall that protruded far away from the tower and created a square shape, using the chasm as a fourth wall. He thought deeply about what would be necessary to overcome the odds that had been stacked against-

Suddenly, Mario heard something behind them hit the ground. He was then struck in the back and pushed into the hard stone, face forward. He tried to move his arms, but he soon realized that the blow had paralyzed him. Yoshi suffered the same fate and hit the floor. His face was turned away from Mario.

"Done, and done!" Paraplonk exclaimed. "Oh, man, I got you four good! And all it took was a way with words and a little guy to toy with." Paraplonk laid down beside Yoshi where he could see his face. As he went down to his palms, Mario could see Paraplonk's hands were surging with electricity.

"Aww, what's the matter? Is our little idiot over here surprised he was so easily tricked? I have to say, I'm impressed by how easily you believed every little white lie I said. It's like the whole team couldn't let their deluded little dinosaur friend not decide everything. My, look at that stare! He thinks he can take me on. He really is an idiot, heheh…"

Paraplonk stood back up. "Gimme a second, I've gotta make a call." Mario heard the classic sound of a voice chat request being sent out.

"Yes, Corporal Paraplonk…?" A female voice said.

"Hey, Hazel! Take a look at what I did~!"

Mario couldn't see it, but he presumed that he turned the camera to their frozen bodies so that this Hazel person could see them.

"...Oh, Paraplonk… I thought I told you we had this covered."

"Well now we have it double covered. All you have to do is bring in some guys to take them to the prison, and you basically have a free pass to victory."

"Still, you really shouldn't have left your Paratroopa squad without a leader."

"Oh, don't worry about them. They can handle themselves juuust fine."

Hazel sighed.

"Okay. We'll do something with them. Your contribution is appreciated, Paraplonk."

"You're welcome~."

Paraplonk hung up.

"Well, now that that's all finished, I've got some friends I gotta catch up with. Hopefully they won't be too mad with me. Ta ta~." And with that, Corporal Paraplonk rocketed straight into the air. Mario could hear his wings beating as he slowly flew away from them, going to places unknown to them.

Ricky shot straight out of Mario's body as soon as Paraplonk was out of earshot. "Holy cow, are you guys okay?!" He proclaimed. "Oh yeah, you can't talk, you're paralyzed..." He turned to Mario. "Okay, I can fix this. I hope I can fix this. I really, really, hope I can fix this." He tried lifting Mario's arm into the air. As it rose up, he felt the paralysis leave the arm. Not long after, his entire body dispelled his immobility. Mario got back on his feet. Quickly, the two of them went to undo Yoshi's paralysis.

"That evil, backstabbing-!" Yoshi cut himself off as he stood back up. His train of thought was already clear. Mario and Ricky then went to unfreeze Luigi. He seemed to also be frustrated by their run in, but seemed to have calmed down already. Bowser, however, was a different story.

"This is unbelievable..." Bowser murmured while standing up.

"I know, right?!" Yoshi said. "How could he-"

"I wasn't talking about Corporal Paraplonk."

Bowser towered over the dinosaur. Yoshi seemed afraid of what the Koopa king was about to say. This won't end well, Mario thought.

"Ever since I joined you three, you've all been nothing but trouble for me, but you're the biggest offender. You've humiliated me, turned down most of my ideas, and have gotten me into a load of bad situations. Nearly fell into a canyon because of an invisible block? Your fault. Leaving me outside of Dry Dry Outpost so I could get tied up by some Mousers? Your fault. Getting caught in Bumpsy Estate? Your fault! And look what you've done now. What if Ricky hadn't been here to bail us out?! They could've ended our game!"

Yoshi said nothing to avoid showing the fact that he was on the brink of tears.

"You're crying? Good. Crying means you're listening. And you think, after all of those faults, you can just walk up to me like you're my best friend in the world! You think that, if you work just a bit harder, anything is possible, don't you? Well, here's a little reality check: That isn't how it works. That's not how life works! And there's no chance that the two of us will ever be friends!"

Luigi suddenly stepped between Bowser and Yoshi.

"This isn't your fight, Green Stache."

Luigi told Bowser that it wasn't his, either. Even though he hadn't done much for the team, he still wanted to help Mario keep the peace. He thought Bowser was being ridiculous and melodramatic. He told Bowser that, if he wanted to blame someone for all of the team's problems, he should blame Mario, since it was him who allowed many of Yoshi's judgement calls to be followed through. Regardless of who made the call, though, Paraplonk had tricked all of them. No one had guessed that he was possessed by one of the Mirage Souls, and he had no right to accuse Yoshi for not being smart enough. Right now he was not welcome to the team with his current state of mind and that he would need to blow off some steam before he could continue with them.

"Fine! If negativity isn't allowed in this team, then I'll just leave! Since I have a decent part of my army back, I don't even need you!" He ran away from the group and back down the hill.

"Wow..." Ricky said. "Now I can see why you call him the bad guy..."

Mario was stunned. In almost a minute, one of their team members had left and two of them were probably not going to let him come back. All the while, Mario had just stood there and watched. He had done nothing to avoid tension from building this high, and it would cost him in team unity. Luigi and Yoshi were probably mad at him, too, for not being a leader and taking action. He just... hadn't known what to do. Never had this much discontent been shown between two members of Mario's party, not even when it was a party of 9 different individuals, each with their own viewpoint of the world. He knew having someone with such a short temper on the team was a bad idea, but he didn't think it would be this bad, compared to the last times he had teamed up with him. How could he have been so foolish...?

Bowser stopped for a moment and, in his rage, sent a giant trail of fire flying into the air. Mario suddenly realized how big of a mistake that was. He turned back to face the tower. He saw a large army that was originally going to pass them, but they began to move toward the direction of Bowser's flame. Charging chucks led the group, with swoopers and paratroopas gliding behind them. It would be a tough wall to clear, but it was doable.

Mario handed a Raccoon Leaf to Luigi and the pair of wings to Yoshi. Then, he pulled out his Cape Feather. With one swing, it transformed into a brilliant yellow cape. Quickly, he tied it around his neck.

"I'm ready when you are," Ricky stated.

"...Yeah, me too," Yoshi added.

Mario hurried down the hill towards the tower, and leaped high into the air. Quickly, he caught the free sides of the cape with his hand. The cape inflated like a parachute, which, with the right flow of air, would let him fly. Luigi, Yoshi, and Ricky followed closely behind.

Meanwhile, the army below pursued the remaining member. Bowser felt the ground rumble as the Charging Chucks approached.

"Oh, of course," Bowser muttered as he pulled out the Minion Block.

"Everyone! Time to take our home back!" He called out. He opened the portal from the Minion Block and let his forces spill out. Quickly, the two armies found each other locked in combat. Despite being outnumbered, the goombas and shy guys were still able to handle the army. While Private Goomp's forces took care of the charging chucks, Sergeant Guy's squadron countered the diving paratroopas and swoopers with their own high jumps. Quickly, Bowser put himself in the fray and sent a line of fire at the remaining troops, unleashing all of his fury onto them. Quickly, they all fell to their might. Bowser felt ripe for battle as he turned and saw Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Ricky soaring towards the tower. He and his army quickly followed.

Below them, Mario could see the first line of defense. Bullet bill blasters formed a line just beyond them, each one manned by a monty mole. Bullets bills were launched into the air, each one targeting one of the heroes. Ricky caught one with psychokinesis and sent it flying into another. Yoshi grabbed one heading straight for him with his tongue and spun headfirst in the air, sending the bullet bill around the dinosaur. He released it at the exact moment when it would travel straight towards the ground below, where it exploded and left a crater. The Bros. weaved through the Bullet Bills, but to no avail: Mario was struck by one of them, causing him to release the back ends of the cape and ending his flight. Yoshi, still recovering from the flip, quickly dived under him and caught him on his shell.

Thankfully for Bowser, the heroes made a perfect distraction. The army quickly made its way to the brigade of monty moles. Before they could readjust the blasters to face Bowser and crew, they were already upon them. They trampled over them, damaging blasters and knocking out moles. One clever mole, however, was able to position his cannon to face in front of the passing heroes above and fire one last bullet bill before being knocked away from the blaster. This blow was a direct hit upon Yoshi, causing him to lose his wings and ground him and Mario. Yoshi was fortunately able to catch himself with a flutter jump to prevent harm to either of them. Luigi's descended as well, his leaf running out of power to provide flight. Mario hopped off of Yoshi and pulled out his hammer, ready for grounded combat.

Ricky descended from the sky and hybridized with Mario as they readied to fight their next opponent: a massive group of dry bones, a legion of fallen koopas likely hundreds strong. Mario knew they would have to ally with Bowser's team to clear the threat. They may be only about 40 strong, but that was far better than nothing. Mario and crew retreated a few steps before they found themselves surrounded by the two vastly different armies who proceeded to go toe to toe with each other. One hit was enough to stop a dry bones, but there were so many of them that the loss of one meant next to nothing. The strikes of the weaker goombas and shy guys would be for naught if they didn't start moving soon.

Mario looked for an opening in the mess. They were already pretty close to the wall; all they needed was someone to open the gigantic doors from the inside. Suddenly, he found a patch of dry bones next to him that contained none of Bowser's forces. He threw his hammer into the fray, causing many of the dry bones to collapse, and called it back. He motioned for Luigi to get a running start in the opening. Understanding what Mario wanted, he hurried through the opening and gained enough speed to jump up and start flying again. Some of the dry bones tried to grab Luigi's foot to keep him grounded, but none of them were successful. He soared over the crowd and eventually rose over the wall.

Mario and Yoshi ran after Luigi, traveling straight through the heat of battle. Mario tried to part the dry bones and clear a path, but the extent of Ricky's power wasn't enough to hold on to that many creatures at once. He would just have to get though them the old fashioned way: slamming his hammer like a madman to keep them at bay. Dry bone after dry bone fell before the mighty hammer. Yoshi followed closely behind, using his tail to sweep their feet out from under them. Quickly, they found themselves just in front of the door through the wall. Suddenly, some dry bones grabbed ahold of Mario's cape and started pulling him back. Yoshi tried to help Mario out of the situation, but some others were able to pull him away by the tail. Mario watched as the door they had worked so hard to reach moved farther and farther away from them. Was this the end...?

Suddenly, Bowser came swinging at the dry bones, causing them to collapse and free Mario. Sergeant Guy, who was on Bowser's shoulder alongside Private Goomp, casted a spell that eliminated the dry bones holding Yoshi as well. The three of them made one last break for the door. Yoshi made it first, by Flutter Jumping over the sea of bones. Mario and Bowser were able to clear a path through the chaos and reach the door. Luigi creaked the door open just wide enough for Yoshi, Bowser, and Mario to sidle inside. Quickly, they held the door closed while Luigi grabbed the lock and key he had set against the wall. He hopped on Bowser's shell and quickly inserted the lock back into the large handles. The crew let go of the door. While the banging against the door was ceaseless, the lock held strong.

Everyone took some time to catch their breath. Ricky separated from Mario, and Bowser's two royal guards hopped off of his shoulders.

"We... did it... we're inside," Ricky said.

"I hope our remaining troops will be okay..." Private Goomp said.

"I'm sure they can hold out long enough for us to take care of Shade," Sergeant Guy said, trying to comfort his comrade.

Even with Ricky and the guards' chat about the event, Mario still felt a high amount of unease. Yoshi, who would normally be overjoyed that everyone made it out okay, was dead silent, simply waiting for everyone to be ready to continue. Yoshi was so angry with Bowser that it was actually affectomg his optimistic attitude. This had never happened before. No matter how great the threat, Yoshi had always stayed strong, but being rejected by Bowser had broken him a little. Mario wasn't entirely surprised. He had even tried befriending Bowser himself, but no matter what Bowser was invited to, his temper would always get in the way. He should've told Yoshi that this would happen. If he did, maybe the group would've been a lot more comfortable with each other. Now it was too late, and the rift had been formed.

"C'mon, Private and Sergeant. Let's go," Bowser said. "We've got some business to take care of." The three of them went on ahead.

"We should probably follow them," Ricky said. No one seemed happy, but none of them disagreed. The rest of the crew began pursuing Bowser and his guards, though at a decently far distance so Bowser wouldn't complain about them.

Now beyond the wall, they were in what looked to be some kind of labor or training camp. Unlike the flat terrain on the outer side of the wall, this area was filled with mounds of rock everywhere. Mario noticed that a similar camp and wall was on the other side of the chasm. The entrance to the castle was a long, white drawbridge, which was down for some reason. Mario guessed that the drawbridge was as wide as his house and as long as a soccer field. It seemed dangerous, lacking any kind of fence or boundary to prevent falling into the chasm, but they continued onward, with Bowser being just ahead. Mario discovered that the chasm had been drained of lava. Instead, both ends rose out of the blackness of the dark, with no floor in sight.

Suddenly, Mario heard a noise he had hoped he would never hear again; the very same clanks he had heard during the raid on Peach's Castle one day ago. This time, however, the cage had targeted Private Goomp.

"Lord Bowser?! What's goin-"

Private Goomp's cage shrunk into nothingness, leaving no traces of Private Goomp's presence.

"What the- who did that?!" Bowser said.

"Welcome to my tower, Koopa king..."

Bowser turned his attention to two figures above him. While none of them had seen him close before, Mario was sure that the one whose face was blocked by a black cloak was the person they had been pursuing throughout their adventure, and the Magikoopa in pink who required the assistance of a broom to fly was likely his assistant, Hazel.

"You!" Bowser shouted. "What did you do with Private Goomp?"

"Oh, he's just fine. I've just personally transported him to our new prison. Don't worry about him. I'm sure he'll be fine, especially with a friend to accompany him."

Shade turned his attention to the green Shy Guy beside Bowser. The very same event that had just happened to Private Goomp happened to Sergeant Guy, leaving Bowser alone. Mario, Ricky, Luigi, and Yoshi started running to confront Shade before he took Bowser, but they weren't able to make it in time. Bowser was encased in yet another cage.

"Shoot," was all he could say before he was warped away.

Mario and crew took Bowser's place and faced their two perpetrators. This was when Mario got his first glimpse at the withered, gray face of Shade. He found it somewhat humorous that the villain behind the black tower and cages had a color scheme to match. He wondered just what kind of eyes lied behind those circular glasses every magikoopa seems to wear.

"Oh, look. They escaped Paraplonk's paralysis. What a surprise," Hazel said sarcastically.

"It doesn't matter either way, Hazel. Their resistance ends here and now," Shade replied.

Ricky stood beside Mario at the edge of the drawbridge. "I don't care how easy you think it'll be to defeat us. For as long as Mario's here, you don't stand a chance!" Ricky put his hand on Mario and hybridized with him, ready for the final fight.

"Well. If that's what you think, I'd like to see you avoid this."

"NO!"

At that moment, Yoshi shoved Mario forward and took his place in what was supposed to be Mario's cage. He was thrown off the drawbridge and into the pit below.

Mario fell, and fell, and fell. The wind roared in his ears as he entered deeper and deeper into the pit. Above him, he heard that dreadful sound drone on endlessly as each and every Goomba and Shy Guy of Bowser's army was warped away from the battle.

 _clankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclankclank..._

* * *

Princess Peach and Kooper sat quietly on their respective beds, still divided by the bars of Peach's cell. Kooper stared directly at the security camera in the corner. Peach stared as well, wondering just what Kooper was waiting for.

Suddenly, the security camera turned to the left, making a quiet whirring sound as it moved. It then turned all the way to the right, and finally settled back in what seemed to be the center of its view.

"Oh, thank Eldstar," Kooper said. "That's the signal."

Kooper got out of bed and reached into the hole of the right leg of his shell. He pulled out two objects: a key and a red bandanna. He took off and discarded the blue mask that surrounded his eyes, and tied his bandana back around his neck, returning to his more iconic look. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he said.

Peach got up from her bed as Kooper put his key into the lock and opened the cell door. "Is it time? Do we have surveillance covered?"

"Yeah. Did you see the camera turn? That was Goombella's signal."

"Goombella? Did you come here with her?"

"Yep! The plan was for me to try to become your guard while she tried to get the job of managing the surveillance cameras. Thankfully, we got everything worked out."

Peach fondly remembered the pink Goomba who had helped Mario on his adventure through the Rogue Kingdom. Funnily enough, she was reminded of Kooper when she had first met her.

"Look, I'd love to talk more, but we have to get out of here, and fast. Shade's army is being distracted by Mario and the others right about now. If we take too long, they might catch on."

"I understand. Let's go."

Peach and Kooper ran out of the cell room she had been stuck in for the past day. The hallway she found herself in was drab and gray, lined with red doors labelled with numbers. Across from her, however, was a lobby that contrasted from the hall, with a red carpet and two blue couches angled diagonally from a fireplace with a chimney made with bricks. Across from the room was another identical hallway with yet more prison doors. Peach wondered just how many people had Shade abducted during his rule to need so many rooms.

"The emergency exit's this way," Kooper said while directing her to the left from her cell. Peach quickly followed behind him as the two dashed through the empty hallway. As they passed each door, Peach wondered if one of them contained members of the Toad Brigade. Captain Toad, Toadbert, Mailtoad, Banktoad... Were any of them safe?

Suddenly, they came up to a double door on their left, an anomaly in the hall filled with single doors leading to cells. Kooper changed course and went inside. Peach followed him. She found herself inside of a cafeteria, sort of like the ones found in schools. Two lines had been created with wide tables, reaching a great distance. In the back of the room was a door labelled 'kitchen'.

"We've gotta lay low for a little bit," Kooper said. "We don't want Koopatrols catching wind of us."

"But aren't you a guard?"

"Yeah, but the Koopatrols have a higher status. They're essentially guards of the guards."

"While we're here, do you mind if I look for something in the kitchen?"

"Uh, sure. Be quick, though."

Peach ran across the room between the two lines of tables. Upon further inspection, the floor of the room looked disgusting. It was clear that no one had suggested hiring janitors, because moldy food was all over the place. She refused to care, knowing how little time they had. She shoved the door open and found herself staring what seemed to be a kitchen island where the food was grilled. On top of it lied a frying pan. She picked it up. It wasn't a steak knife like she hoped, but she had no time to filter through drawers to find the silverware. Plus, they probably didn't eat steak anyway. She hurried back to Kooper to show off her new tool.

"Hey, is somebody in there?"

Peach stopped dead in her tracks and stared straight into the eyes of Kooper. He nodded his head.

"AHHH! Let go of me!" She and Kooper started walking towards the double doors again. When the two were close, Kooper grabbed her arm. Peach tried her hardest to look like she was trying to escape Kooper, flailing her free arm holding the frying pan like crazy and trying to get away from Kooper. Kooper used his free hand to open the door and exit the cafeteria. "Sorry, sir," he said as he faced the Koopatrol. "I caught her trying to escape. I'm just about to bring her back to her cell."

The Koopatrol did not seem convinced. "But isn't the key supposed to be hidden in her cell? And why have you taken your mask o-"

 _WHAM!_

The Koopatrol fell to the floor, the frying pan just in front of him. Peach had thrown the frying pan at him, somehow making the trajectory exactly what would be needed to hit his face with the back side.

The two let go as Kooper inspected the unconscious Koopatrol. "...Where'd you learn to do that?"

Peach shrugged. "I guess learning to stab your food with silverware in the perfect spot improves hand-eye coordination... or maybe it had to do with the time I learned how to use an arm cannon."

"I remember that day," He said. "Weirdest part of my life, for sure."

"You're telling me. I'm the one who had to work with them."

"Guys, cut the small talk!" A female voice called out. Kooper quickly traced it to a walkie talkie on the Koopatrol's belt.

"Goombella?" Kooper said.

"Yeah. I have some bad news; I think the Koopa Bros. are on to you. They're patrolling the emergency exit. We won't be able to leave without confronting them."

"No problem," Kooper said. "I handled them once, I can handle them again. Will you need to stay behind, Peach?" He turned and asked her.

"No, I can fight with you."

"Good to hear." Kooper stood up and began running. Peach followed closely behind. The two made their way to the end of the hall. There, they found a large, circular room. In the back was what looked like a glass elevator. The entrance to the elevator was surrounded by the four Koopa Bros.

"Well, if it isn't our traitor, Blue," the red one said.

"My name isn't Blue, it's Kooper. I thought you would know that, since I was the one who beat you guys up last time."

"Don't think we've forgotten," the black one said.

"That was when we were uncool," the yellow one said. "Now, thanks to Shade, we're the coolest Koopas in the crew."

"Really?" Kooper asked. "You guys look exactly the same. In fact, I'd say you're even less cool."

"How dare you...!" Was all the green one could say.

"You really are a traitor!" Red said. "Us Koopa Bros. have a psychic bond. We'd never call each other uncool. You don't belong to the Koopa Bros. at all!"

"Yeah, I think you already figured that one out. Let's just get this over with so the princess and I can get out of here."

"Oh, you asked for it!" Yellow said. "We're gonna beat you up and get ourselves a promo-"

 _BAM! Splat._

Suddenly, a man crashed through the ceiling of the room between Kooper and the Koopa Bros. and hit the floor hard.

"What the-" Black said as the dust cleared and revealed the intruder.

"MARIO!" Peach cried out as she ran past Kooper and picked up her hero. "Don't worry about him, Kooper. I'll make sure he's okay."

"I won't. I already know he's in good hands," Kooper replied as Peach returned back to her original spot behind him.

"Now we're gonna take back the princess and Mario?! Oh, we're so getting promoted," Yellow said just before charging at the blue-shelled Koopa.

"Yellow, wait-"

Just before Yellow made contact with Kooper, he dodged to the right and tripped him with his foot. Yellow slammed into the floor. Black and Green quickly followed behind him. Kooper grabbed the sides of Black's shell and shoved him into Green, sending them both onto their backs.

"Don't you guys remember our training? We've gotta fight together!" Red coached.

"Right!" The three of them said as they stood back up. They formed a triangle shape around Kooper and put their hands up, ready to send their fists flying. Kooper took the hint and ducked when the moment came. Both of the punches thrown by Black and Green slammed into Yellow's face, causing him to take a few steps back. Kooper sweeped the remaining Koopas' legs with his own and brought them to the floor.

Red facepalmed and sighed in disappointment.

Back in the hallway, Peach was digging desperately through Mario's overalls. _Please tell me you brought healing items_ , Peach thought. Suddenly, she felt something inside that felt like a rod.

 _No way!_ Peach exclaimed internally as she pulled out the Vibe Scepter. She thought she would never see it again, but she was sure glad it was here now because she knew exactly what to do with it. Peach casted away all of her worries and doubts, and tried her hardest to steady her heartbeat and calm herself down. The scepter started glowing with a green aura as Mario's wounds begun to heal.

Things had begun to not look so well for Kooper. Yellow was able to overtake him and push him into the ground. He winded up for a punch to knock the Koopa out.

"Get away from him!"

Suddenly, Goombella leaped into the air and hit the koopa with a headbonk. He fell to the floor, unconscious.

Kooper stood back up. "Nice of you to show up."

The pink Goomba, clad with the same helmet with a light and a red scarf from her adventure with Mario, turned around to face Kooper. "Hey, better late than never, right?" She said.

"Yellow, no!" Red called out. "Oh, you're gonna pay for that..."

Black, Green, and Red stacked their shells on top of each other, ready to perform their infamous attack. Kooper recoiled into his own shell. "Go for it!" He told Goombella. The Goomba took a few steps back before running into the shell and kicking it into the stack. Kooper slammed straight into Green, causing the Koopa Bro to hit his head on the elevator and go unconcious. Black tried to stand back up, but a Headbonk from Goombella finished him as well. Red, still getting up from being knocked away from the team attack, was the last one remaining.

"No way... we were so-" Red was slammed in the side of the head with Peach's frying pan, who had snuck up behind him while he wasn't looking. He hit the ground with a thud.

"Well, I guess that's the end of that," Kooper stated. "But what about Mario?"

The three of them approached the hero. Mario was still recovering from the fall, despite Peach's best efforts to fully heal him.

"Mario...?" Peach grabbed his hand and pulled him up. Suddenly, Ricky threw himself out of Mario.

"Oh! Who might you be...?"

"Oh, hey. The name's Ricky T. Peach, right? You look a lot like royalty."

"Yeah, that's me."

"We came here to rescue you, but it looks like you already have that covered. Would've been nice to know before we were thrown off a cliff for it, heheh."

"Wha- thrown off the chasm?!" Goombella said, shocked that her former ally was beaten so badly.

"Why don't we discuss that after we get out of enemy territory?" Kooper suggested.

Mario agreed. He walked up to the elevator and pressed the button next to the doors. The door opened, and the five of them filtered in. The door closed back, and the elevator began to rise. As it rose up, everyone could see the prison from the outside. The roof was just as gray as the walls and floors below were. The only significant thing to mention was that the prison acted as the roots for the tower. Eventually, they were so far up that the prison was enveloped in darkness, back out of sight. The elevator finally reached the top of the chasm and opened a door on the opposite side, facing away from the tower. The crew sprinted (or floated, in Ricky's case) away from the Tower of Shade. While the battle had settled and no one remained outside, Mario still dreaded the contents of the tower. While he had entered with his closest friends in tow, he now barely escaped with his life, fortunate enough that some old friends were there to help him. Now his original companions were in jeopardy. Who could know what Shade was going to do with them?

* * *

The Koopa king awoke on the cold, hard ground. He found himself in an incredibly stuffy room blocked behind some bars, similar to the ones that had just taken him away.

"No..." Bowser said. "No, no, no, NO!" He punched the wall with his hand. "We were so close! The tower was right there!" He slammed the wall with punch after punch. All it did was make his knuckles sting with pain, but he didn't care. "I spent an entire week getting ready for this moment, gathering what little army I could possibly muster. But now, I'll never be able to rescue them." Bowser stopped throwing his fists, just letting his mixture of sadness and anger consume him.

"Wendy... Roy... Ludwig... J-Junior... they must be trapped in a cell just like this one, waiting patiently for Papa to rescue them..." Bowser brought his hands to his eyes, trying to wipe away his tears.

"...But he won't. He won't, because he failed them."

* * *

"This couldn't have been better!" Hazel shouted victoriously. The two of them had returned to Shade's office.

"Well, we could've gotten Mario in a cage as well," Shade replied.

"Meh, same difference! He still ended up in the prison. The guards are probably already carrying him to his cell. That's five down, two to go, and the last two are the easiest!"

Suddenly, Hazel's Mailbox SP let out a ringtone.

"Oh, it's Red. He's probably about to tell me all about how Mario went straight into his clutches. Let me take this."

Hazel left Shade's office. He couldn't hear Red's side of the call, but he could hear just a few interjections from Hazel, which included things such as, "Okay..." "What?!"and "How could you..."

She burst back into the office. "Unbelievable. Red just reported that Peach and escaped from the prison, with Mario and his Mirage Soul friend in tow! I asked him how they escaped without being spotted immediately, and he told me the security guard was in on it, too! And we were so dang close..."

"Don't freak out, Hazel. Mario is already on a crash course."

"We can't just rely on that single method! We could finish this now if things would just stop going wrong!"

Shade stood up. "Hazel."

"Uh... Y-yes, sir?"

"I am the leader of this battle. You are my secretary. No matter what you might think is best, I am the leader and this is my choice to make. Do you understand?"

Hazel sighed. "Yes. I do, Shade."

"Good. Now, we're going to wait for Mario to obtain the rest of the Mirage Souls. Then we will deal with him."

"Alright, but... what about the remaining Star Children?"

"I'm sure Mario will bring them here. We'll figure out what to do with the last two when the time comes."

"Speaking of handling our prisoners, I think I found something in the book that you might like. Here, I bookmarked the important parts." She handed her version of the book to Shade. He opened up the book to the first bookmark. Instantly, he had taken a liking to this person she was suggesting to be his minion. He was twisted and smart in all of the right ways. He would be a perfect and loyal minion. The best part? It would take minimal effort to bring him back.

"Hazel? Ask around, find out who knows how to knit. Get them to recreate his old outfit, and make one up for that meddling dinosaur, too. Once they're ready, bring them to me."


	5. An Ancient Secret

Mario looked up through the break in the trees into the evening sky, his heart still pounding at a mile a minute. He, Peach, Kooper, and Goombella had just ran all the way across the Darklands. With the bridge broken, the group decided to take an alternate path out of the Darklands: a tunnel to Bumpsy Plains. Mario and Ricky considered bringing them back to Bumpsy Estate, but the possibility of Shade's forces waiting for them there drove them away. Ultimately, they had decided to take a break in Dimble Wood. He was lying on the forest floor next to Peach and Goombella, taking a moment to rest and relax. Kooper and Ricky decided to be scouts for the two of them, insisting that they didn't need a break.

"Are you sure, Kooper?" Goombella had said. "We kinda just ran a third of the way across the kingdom almost nonstop. We're both pretty used to excruciating expeditions, but you've gotta know your limits."

"No, I'm fine," Kooper had replied. "Keeping you guys safe matters more than my comfort. If someone's gonna do it, it'll be me." Thus, he stood next to them, accompanied by Ricky, who couldn't tire of floating and was willing to be useful.

"So, you're an explorer, right?" Ricky asked Kooper. "You search the globe to discover new things, like ruins or animals?"

"Yep, that's my job."

"Then I have to ask… do you know what a Mirage Soul is?"

"Umm… not really. I don't think I've heard that term before. Sorry."

"Oh." Ricky looked down at the ground.

"What's the matter?"

"The problem is that I'm apparently a Mirage Soul. But I really don't know what that means, because I can't remember anything before I met Mario. I was hoping that someone like you might finally give me answers, but..."

"Oh, dang. I wish I could help you, but some things… we just don't know yet."

"So…" Peach tried to change the subject to something less depressing. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Oh yeah, I never did tell you, didn't I?" Kooper said. "Sorry about that…"

"It's fine. It's better for you to not repeat yourself, anyway."

"Well, we didn't come here on our own accord. We were sent out by the Alliance to help you."

"Alliance?"

"Yeah. It's a little group stationed at Dry Dry Desert, maybe 30 strong. Professor Kolorado and Professor Frankly set it up because of the discovery Goombella made."

"Really? What was so important that drove you away from the Rogue Kingdom, Goombella?"

"Oh, um… I might've found this little book that could decide the fate of the world a week ago."

Both Mario and Peach stood up. "The fate of the world?" Peach asked.

Goombella hopped back on her feet as well. "Remember that chest? Y'know, the one Professor Frankly found that contained a Dried Mushroom? Well, Frankly and I were jokingly coming up with theories as to why a Super Mushroom would need a chest. Eventually though, we were actually coming up with real ideas rather than silly jokes. We ended up coming to the conclusion that the Dried Mushroom was a red herring and the real treasure was still inside. We got to work on the chest and found this really nice looking book between the bottom of the inside and the bottom of the outside. It was called _Chronicles of the Seven Star Children: The Future_."

"You don't mean…"

"It's the opposite of the book Shade has," Kooper said. "Though, our book is a lot weirder than his. While Shade's is finished and talks about the past of the Star Children, ours seems to only be a little ahead of the present day."

"How can it be just ahead of the present?" Ricky asked. "The present is always moving ahead."

"So is the book," Goombella replied. "Look away from it for just a moment and it's added two new pages. It's frankly kind of hard to put down. Being the history nerd I am, it's fascinating to see it literally writing itself as it goes."

"Honestly, I just like to ignore it," Kooper said. "I'm already used to this weird world, but a book that can write the future by itself is just a bit too crazy for me."

"Anyway…" Goombella began again. "We told Kolorado about our find and he wanted to talk about it in person. So me, Frankly, and a few other friends who wanted to come along hitched a boat ride with Cortez and got over to Dry Dry Desert as soon as we could. We had only been around for a day when we heard rumors that Bowser's Castle had been demolished and turned into a tower. Frankly and Kolorado decided to start a group bent on helping you on your inevitable battle with whoever had sieged Bowser's Castle, using the book as a means of assistance. Their first order of business? Get two people to take care of the princess while she was captured. You can guess what happened after that."

Mario asked why he hadn't seen the Alliance during his trip through the desert.

"Beats me," Kooper replied. "We haven't had any contact with the base since we got to the tower."

"Hey, that reminds me!" Goombella pulled out a Mailbox SP. "You want this back now, right?"

"Oh, yeah, I did. I need to tell Kolorado where we are…" Kooper took back his Mailbox SP and opened it up.

"Oh, a new message from… Mario?!" Kooper turned to his old companion. "You tried to reach out to me for the first time in months and I didn't even know about it? I'm really sorry about that. It's no surprise that you cut us off a little if this was how we treated you…"

Mario told Kooper that he had no reason to apologize. It was really him who was ignoring his older friends.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, though! I think most of us understand that you have a busy life and can't be there for everyone all the time."

Mario thanked Kooper for trying to make him feel a little better, but it still didn't quench his guilt.

"So, what do you need the Mailbox SP for?" Ricky asked.

"Oh yeah. I'm getting in contact with Kolorado." He buried himself in the device. "Alright, I sent a message. Now, we-" the Mailbox SP vibrated. "Wow, a reply already?! Kolorado never replies this fast. He must've been waiting for the message. Hmm… Oh, we have a change of plans. We'll be heading to Mount Rugged. He says that they moved there so they would be able to cross paths with Mario after he departed from the K64."

Mario told the crew that the K64 was interrupted by a sudden Smorg raid and a destroyed bridge.

"What?!" Goombella said. "Geez, it seems like every train you get on is attacked. How inconvenient…"

"Didn't you say Smorgs were kind of like Fuzzies, Goombella?" Kooper asked. "They don't have limbs. How would they be able to destroy the bridge?"

"They would've been able to… able to… actually, I don't really know myself."

"Maybe they didn't destroy it?" Ricky suggested. "Someone else may have destroyed the bridge and left the Smorgs to distract the engineer so he wouldn't be able to see the gap."

"Wouldn't be able to... are you implying that they were gonna try to get the engineer to send the train into the chasm?!" Peach asked.

"It's morbid, but it's possible," Ricky replied

"That makes sense. But does that mean Shade's forces know about the Alliance? Could they be in danger? And who was the one tasked with cutting Mario off?" Goombella thought aloud.

"Well, one thing's for sure," Peach began. "There's a whole bunch of people waiting for us, and we need to meet with them as soon as we can." She began walking away from the group, heading westwards. Mario, after swinging his cape to get any remaining leaves off of it, followed closely behind alongside the rest of the team.

As evening turned to night, the heroes began their trek into the mountains. The cooler air was their only mercy in this land. No matter how many times Mario tried to glide in the air, he couldn't see anything in the shadow of the night. They were greeted with steep hills to hike over and around at every turn. All the while, everyone kept their guard, in fear of being found by Shade's army or wildlife disturbed by their presence. Surprisingly enough, it was Peach who refused to let the elements tire her. Thanks to everyone's perseverance, they eventually found themselves overlooking a small colony of tents surrounded by fences at the top of a hill.

"Finally… we made it…" Goombella said, barely able to keep her eyes open. The five of them approached the Alliance slowly, but steadily. Soon enough, they heard loud chattering going on inside. A hoard of Koopas, Goombas, and other creatures came out to greet the heroes they had eagerly been waiting for. The entire team was enthusiastic to have their two best fighters back, as well as the princess and heroes themselves.

"Welcome, Mario!" The sounding of Professor Frankly's voice caused the mob to back away to give the crew some space. He and Kolorado emerged from the crowd. "Please, don't mind them. They're all just happy to see you and the princess safe."

Mario said he wasn't bothered by the gathering.

"Kooper, Goombella, excellent work. Now we have two of the Star Children here, which is better than none. I do wonder where the others are, though."

A look of concern swept over Peach's face. "What do you mean, 'others'?"

"Well…" Kolorado began. "We got word from Dry Dry Outpost that you were traveling with Luigi, Yoshi, and Bowser."

"What?!" Peach exclaimed. All talking in the group completely ceased. "There's no way that's possible. We found him alone during our escape. I know that Mario prefers traveling alone. He told me himself; he doesn't want his close friends to be hurt on his watch. He couldn't have been travelling with others because he would never leave his crew behind. Right, Mario?" She turned to Mario and Ricky to hear their answer.

"...We were traveling with them," Ricky said. "The rumors are right."

The crowd that had once been celebrating a jubilant return began murmuring with unease.

"Are you kidding?! Why didn't you tell us?" Goombella said in shock. "If we had known the others were captured, we totally would've gone back for them!"

"I think that's exactly why Mario didn't say anything, Goombella," Kooper said. "He didn't want to interrupt our escape and potentially put the rest of us in danger."

"But, Mario, you don't understand!" Peach exclaimed. "They're not going to be safe in there. Imagine what he would do to them if they were planning to fuse me with the Shadow Queen again!" Peach regretted saying that. Instantly, the crowd burst into fearful talk. They all remembered the day the Shadow Queen was released, and the terrible blanket of darkness that washed over the entire planet, covering the Sun's light. All of them were sure that she was gone for good. If Shade could bring her back, then the things he could do to Luigi, Yoshi, and Bowser would certainly be disastrous.

"Cut it out, all of you!" Ricky shouted. The group quieted down to hear what he had to say. "Look, I know that leaving them behind was wrong, and I should've spoken up about it when Mario didn't. But Kooper was right; if the rest of us were captured, then Shade would surely achieve his goal, whatever it is."

"That is something that I can agree with," Professor Frankly said. "What we can take from this is that Shade is not messing around. He will take prisoners and abuse them as needed to get what he wants. We need to figure out a way to take him out and get the others back with us as soon as we can."

"But how?" Peach asked. "He can create cages and warp people to basically wherever he wants. We wouldn't be able to get close to him, much less defeat him."

"Surely, there must be something in _The Future_ that we can use…" Kolorado said.

"Or maybe we could look into _The Past_ instead?" Kooper said, pulling out a small book.

"No way…" Kolorado muttered as he took the book out of Kooper hands and skimmed through it. "...No way! You got your hands on Shade's own book?! How?"

"It was kind of easy, really," Goombella said. "He gives every minion a tiny copy. Here's mine." She pulled out her own copy.

"That's incredible! But, wait, that means…" Kolorado flipped through the pages of the book, recognizing a few events from some of Mario's earliest adventures. "Mario, Shade can look through your life whenever he feels like it. Every enemy you've faced, every strategy you've used… all at his fingertips. That… might be a problem."

"Why don't we discuss these matters tomorrow, when everyone is ready to take action?" Frankly suggested.

"Yes, I would love that." Peach answered. "The elements have not been merciful on our way here…"

The crowd made their way back into their quarters. Quickly, Mario and his crew was provided with several food articles, which they happily took and consumed.

"Man, this place looks so much nicer since we were here," Goombella commented. "Who got all of this stuff?"

"That would be me."

Mario and Peach recognized that voice.

"Wario?"

Mario's old rival was standing behind them, clad in his classic purple overalls, yellow shirt, and yellow cap marked with a W, similar to Mario's.

"What are you doing here?" Peach continued.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm helping the Alliance."

"Strange," Goombella commented. "You live over in the Metro Kingdom, right? Why would the Alliance reach out to you?"

"Oh, yes! I didn't tell you about Wario," Frankly said. "You see, we realized that we were in serious need of provisions and money. So Kolorado and I reached out to the richest guy we knew."

"Why didn't you contact me?" Peach asked. "I would've been more than glad to provide you guys with resources."

"We didn't want to cause panic in the kingdom." Kolorado answered. "The two of us thought that might push Shade to fight harder due to everyone being more prepared. Thankfully, Wario has been especially helpful. Not only has he provided us with the funding needed to sustain the camp, but he offered to take up arms himself! All in exchange for giving him some treasure from our current expedition in Dry Dry Desert."

"You mean… that expedition?" Kooper asked.

"Yeah, that one."

"Wait, what is this all about?" Ricky said, slightly confused.

"Don't worry about it," Kooper said. "Shade's war is more important right now."

"But I still don't understand… why would Wario want to help you?" Peach asked.

"Because making more Warioware games was getting boring," Wario answered for the professors. "It's been too long since I've gone on an adventure, and this was a perfect chance for me to get out there. A couple tents and some food is pocket change, anyway."

"Well, since you were so gracious in helping me get that statue back some time ago, I wouldn't mind you coming along," Peach stated.

"Yeah, gracious…" Wario and Mario both knew what Wario had really intended to do with that statue. "I can't really go, though. These guys are all too weak to protect themselves. I gotta stay and be their bodyguard."

"That makes sense," Peach replied. Mario breathed a sigh of relief. Who knew what a rival like Wario would do to the morale of the group?

"Come on, let me show you to your tents…" Kolorado stated. He brought each of them to three vacant tents. "Kooper, you and Wario will be sleeping in the tent on the right. Peach and Goombella will be in the middle tent. Mario, you and… your ghostly friend…"

"Ricky T. Mirage Soul."

"...will be in the tent on the left. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna get some rest myself." Kolorado left the group to their own devices.

"Welp, good night, you all," Goombella stated as she entered the tent.

"Good night, Mario," Peach said as she gave her hero a hug and joined Goombella.

"See you guys in the morning," Kooper said as he followed Wario into the tent, who hadn't said a word.

Mario and Ricky went into their own tent. Inside was an unlighted lantern and two sleeping bags. Mario laid on top of his sleeping bag and used his cape as a blanket. It fended away the cold air of the ruthless desert. It reminded Mario of the many hugs Yoshi had given him, filled with love and warmth. For now, it would be a decent supplement.

"Man, what a day…" Ricky said. "We really messed up."

Mario agreed. Not only had he headed straight into battle directly after a dispute that had put everyone on uneven terms, but it had costed him his own brother and best friend. He could've told the group about it, but at that moment, he felt like sending them back into the fray would just result in another mistake which would surely result in everyone being taken captive.

"Listen, Mario… I wish we could do something about our predicament, too. Luigi, Yoshi, and Bowser were all fun to spend time with, even with Bowser's attitude. I would do anything to get them back. But right now, we've just gotta play along. This whole group seems really excited to help us. Surely, they'll figure out what we need to do to beat him. And, maybe, while they're at it… they might find out who I am, too."

Mario told Ricky that he himself had wondered what Ricky's purpose was. Ghostly Toads aren't exactly something you see everyday. Most people didn't make comments about it - he usually travelled with strange partners - but Ricky was a special enigma. The last time he had worked with a partner this strange… well, he'd rather forget about that particular individual.

"Hopefully we'll figure something out tomorrow morning. Good night, Mario."

And thus, the two of them fell asleep.

* * *

"...Sir?"

Hazel cracked the door of Shade's bedroom open, carrying a sheet of paper. The Magikoopa sprung out of bed, still wearing his enveloping black cloak. His bedroom was a strange contrast to the rest of the tower. This room was a soft purple color, and had a window facing towards the location where Bowser's Castle had once stood. Similar to Shade's office, the only notable object in the room was the bed, coated with blankets the same color as the walls, ceiling, and floor. Hazel had assumed that Shade simply preferred having his bare essentials in his quarters, with everything else placed in other rooms, but she still found his preference strange.

"Hazel, what are you doing up so late?"

"Shade, it's an hour till dawn. It's not that late."

"Then what did you wake me up for?"

"Well, the group I chose to sew the outfits and I have came up with a design. I wanted to show you it so you could approve."

"Alright," Shade said. "Hand it over."

Hazel gave Shade the paper she was holding. It contained a sketch of his design, as well as his personality and origin story. Shade loved it. He just seemed better and better with each word he read.

"It's excellent," Shade said after reading the paper in its entirety.

"Oh, thank you, sir! We were all really proud of the idea. We designed him to be the antithesis to M-"

"Antithesis?"

"...opposite."

Shade took another look at the paper. "Ah, I see! They're very different, but share enough interests to work together… I like it. I think I'm ready to bring them to life."

"Awesome!" Hazel exclaimed. "I'll go get the-"

Suddenly the ground below them trembled.

"Do you know what this shaking is, Hazel?"

"No, sir. The last time we had any shaking like this, it was when we sent out those Dry Bones from the pris-" Hazel came to the realization of what these vibrations were. "Oh. Oh no."

"Go. Take care of them."

Hazel darted out of Shade's room, searching for the stairs.

* * *

Bowser paced back and forth in his tiny cell. Every part of his body ached and he desperately needed sleep, but he refused to give in. He had to make sure that he was in top condition, even in his cell.

Suddenly, the door to his room opened up. Bowser stopped pacing at the site of the familiar face.

"Kammy?"

"Ah, Your Capturedness!" Kammy exclaimed. The Magikoopa dressed in dark purple robes and her iconic bent-back Magikoopa hat that hid her gray hair approached the bars separating her from Bowser. "We've been looking all over for you."

"Who's 'we'?"

"Why, your army, of course! The Goombas, Shy Guys, and my Magikoopas are all waiting just outside the door."

"Seriously? How'd you bust them out?"

"Sheer brute force. Now, get out of this cell. We've got escaping to do!"

Bowser stepped back and took a deep breath. The power of his fire breath burned the steel bars, creating an opening. Bowser stepped out and immediately slugged Kammy in the face.

"Ow!" She stumbled back a little from the hit. "Your Rudeness, what was that threat to my beautiful face for…?"

"Last time I let my guard down for one of my men, he was working for the enemy. Looks like you aren't possessed like he was, though, so I guess you're in the clear. Come on, let's go."

Bowser stepped out of the room and was met with the cheering of his army, now a little bigger with the Magikoopas on his side. Private Goomp and Sergeant Guy stood before their king.

"Lord Bowser!" Private Goomp exclaimed. "We're all ready to bust out of here. We'll move at your command."

"Halt!"

The group was surrounded by a swarm of Koopatrols on each side of the hallway. The room went silent.

"Nobody move. A single step closer and we will send our lances flying."

Bowser saw that each and every one of them was carrying a lance with a sharp piece of metal at the end. He glanced at Kammy, who had emerged behind him. She looked at the Magikoopas and nodded.

Bowser stomped his foot.

A flurry of sticks was unleashed upon the group. To retaliate, the Magikoopas casted spells at the wands, making them disappear into thin air. Not a single lance even came close to striking one of Bowser's minions. The room returned to an awkward silence as the Koopatrols simply stood there.

"CHAAARGE!" Bowser roared.

Quickly, the Koopatrols and the minions went to battle. The Koopatrols charged at the army at full force, using their helmets equipped with spikes usually meant for Mario to avoid jumping on to try to stab them. The Goombas and Shy Guys, however, proved to be too agile for the Koopatrols, jumping out of the way before they could strike. Kammy and the Magikoopas, which had retreated to the middle of the room, used this opportunity to pull out their brooms. Each one slipped their broom under their legs and began to float in the air, almost rubbing against the roof of the hallway. They flew to the right of Bowser's cell, knowing exactly how to reach the exit of the tower by the way they entered. Private Goomp and Sergeant Guy hopped on to Bowser's shoulders as the army chased after the Magikoopas, clearing the way out of the Koopatrols with well-timed jumps and sidesteps.

The Magikoopas came to a small opening on their left for a gigantic elevator made of what looked like steel. They made a sharp turn and opened the elevator. Bowser and the others followed close behind. Thankfully, the entire group was just barely able to fit in the elevator. The doors closed and it began slowly rising. The group stood in silence and caught their breath.

"So…" Bowser broke the silence. "Where does this elevator lead?"

"It's right in front of the exit to the Tower of Shade," Kammy answered.

"Nice."

"When they threw you out, they tried to trick us into thinking you had given up on us," Kammy explained. "Shade implanted a false memory into the minds of us minions of you giving us a speech explaining that you were leaving the throne and someone named Shade would be taking your place."

Some murmuring began in the group.

"That wasn't real?!"

"I thought Lord Bowser just changed his mind…"

"I knew that meeting felt abnormally short for how many things happened in it!"

"Us Magikoopas, however, have the capability to detect and, in some cases, reject magical presences. We all could tell that the memory was not real and discarded it. We've been laying low, waiting for the perfect moment to bring you back to glory. And now, the moment has come!"

"Interesting. How were they so easily fooled?"

"I can play a good act, Your Unknowingness. My glorious face doesn't show any contortions when lying!"

"Cocky as usual. Frankly, I kind of missed having someone totally nuts to play off of. Good to have you back, old hag."

The elevators stopped moving.

"Now, let's get out of-"

As the doors fully retracted, Hazel stood between them and the open drawbridge of the Tower of Shade, aiming her wand straight at Bowser.

"Well, if it isn't Auntie Kammy."

"What?!" Kammy exclaimed, exiting the elevator. "Hazel! What is the meaning of this?"

"That's what I should be asking you. I thought, after all of the effort we went through, that you had finally accepted me. I should've known better. You were just playing us like a fiddle."

"My issue was never with y-"

"You think I don't know that?! I accepted him when no one else would, and that meant I had to be banished."

"Your brother was on a dangerous path. We all feared him!"

"He was normal! He was perfectly normal. He just… had different interests. He was fine until you… you-"

"Cut it out, kid!" Bowser interrupted, moving next to Kammy. "We've got places to be. Get out of the way or we'll trample you."

"No. No more of this! I won't let any more mistakes be on my hands!" Hazel lowered her outstretched arm with her wand down to her side and then raised it to the side of her head, the tip nearly touching her glasses. "Don't come a step closer!"

"Ha! You think casting a spell on yourself will make us stop? Think a-"

"No, Your Brashness! Don't move!"

"What? Why?"

"Magikoopa Law #6: 'One must not provoke another Magikoopa to cast a spell on themselves.' She's technically a part of the Magikoopa family, so the rule still applies, and since we're all fighting as one army, that means that all of us would break Magikoopa law. And if you break Magikoopa law, your magical power will be revoked… Oh, you brat! You selfish, manipulative brat!"

"Finally, I have you right where I want you. The senile elder of the Magikoopa clan has met her match. Just wait there, patiently, while the guards come over and escort you back to your ce-"

Sergeant Guy, still sitting on Bowser's right shoulder, pointed his wand at Hazel. "Private! Now!"

Hazel retaliated by pointing her own wand at him. "I SAID DON'T MO-"

Private Goomp swatted Hazel's wand out of her hands with a Headbonk.

"NO!"

Hazel dived for the wand as it rolled away from her and towards Kammy. Kammy picked it up just before Hazel could grab it. Instantly, the entire army ran out of the elevator and onto the drawbridge. Bowser led the charge once again, followed by his royal guards. Quickly, the group reached the gigantic door, their final obstacle between imprisonment and freedom. Kammy gathered all of the Magikoopas in a rectangle shape.

"One… two… three!"

All of them casted a spell simultaneously. Its power was great enough to warp away the door. The army fled from the tower, running, and running, and running, until the tower was completely out of sight. They took a short break for everyone to catch their breath again.

"We did it… We're free!" Private Goomp exclaimed.

"Your Freedness, what is our next course of action?" Kammy asked.

Bowser didn't reply. Instead, he walked in front of his group of roughly 60.

"Attention!"

Every minion faced their king.

"While it's true that we just escaped from the tower, but that doesn't mean our job is done. Nowhere close. Most of our forces still remain on Shade's side, convinced that we are the enemy. My kids… they're still probably in there somewhere, waiting for us. We must gather as many of our forces as possible and prepare for another battle against Shade."

"But for now, embrace what you have! You were the first of my army to see me as the true leader. You are the first to defy the ruler you know is wrong. And you will be the first to fight for what you know is right! You are my minions, and together, nothing is impossible!"

Bowser's Minions burst into a fit of applause. "Bow-ser! Bow-ser! Bow-ser!" They chanted.

Bowser let out a menacing laugh and looked at the rising sun behind the Minions. "Shade better keep his guard up, because we're taking him down!"

* * *

"I… I've failed you, sir…"

Hazel couldn't bring herself to look at the Magikoopa at the desk.

"No, you have not. I should have detected that Kammy was defying us from the very beginning. It was my error."

"Quit saying that, sir… it was me. I had them right there. Thirty more seconds and we would've had them back where they were supposed to be. Letting my guard down, giving them a chance to escape, was what got them out. Why do you keep blaming yourself…?"

"Hazel, I want you to look at me."

She did as he said.

"The Star Children can be taken captive again. The Koopa king's escape is unfortunate, but can be undone. What is important, right now, is that we take out the main threats, and that is and always will be Mario. Don't go mad over the little things like his futile rebellion. Right now, our main objective is to claim Mario, and if I recall correctly, we already have someone on that. Correct?"

"Yes. The vessel we found in Gusty Gulch."

"See? Nothing is wrong. We are well on our way to victory. And once we win, we can send that foolish clan who refused to accept you into an endless string of persecution."

"...Okay. Thank you, sir."

Shade relaxed in his seat. _Good_ , he thought. _Now she won't be melodramatic and make things even worse_. "Now, bring me those two, like I had asked before we were interrupted."

"...Yes, sir."

* * *

"Time to wake up, darlings~."

Mario woke up with a shock to the voice of Ms. Mowz. He had never thought he would see the white Mouser with her vibrant red mask again.

"Who the heck are you…?" Ricky asked, returning to an upright position.

"Oh, my name's Ms. Mowz. I run a shop in this little town named Rogueport called the Lovely Howz of Badges. You're Ricky T, correct?"

"Uhh, yeah. Just call me Ricky though."

"It's such a pleasure to see your dashing face once again, Mario. As soon as I heard that Goombella was travelling to the Mushroom Kingdom, I just had to come!"

Mario got out of his sleeping bag and asked her if any of his other friends had come to meet him.

"Admiral Bobbery came as well, but that's it."

Mario had thought as much. Why come if he was just going to leave them behind, just like he did last time?

"Anyway, everyone else is awake. We wanted to give you more time, but they have serious matters to discuss with you in Kolorado's tent."

"Alright then, take us there," Ricky answered.

And so they did. Quickly, the Mouser darted between the tents, taking the two of them on the fastest path across the base to the tent where everyone was waiting.

"Oh, Mario!" Peach said as he and Ricky entered the tent.

"Ah, good morning!" Kolorado exclaimed. "Sorry for getting someone to wake you up, but this was very important. I've taken serious interest into Ricky over here. Kooper told me you are something called a 'Mirage Soul' and you lacked memory of your origin this morning. Is that right?"

"Yeah, it is," Ricky said.

"Well, I decided to sift through my archives to find something, anything, that might have to do with you. And, while I can't say for certain, I believe I may have found something."

"Wait, really?!"

"You see, during my travels, I discovered this small village of Buzzers in the Forest Maze. They supposedly held an artifact called the Jewel of Fate that is destined to come into contact with someone dubbed the Fated. Those who have seen it say it's a beautiful ruby red color."

"Red? Do you think that might have something to do with Mario?"

"No. I think it has something to do with you, Ricky. A strange individual tied to a strange object? Surely, you must be the Fated!"

"And what does this have to do with our fight against Shade?" Wario interrupted.

"From what I can tell, Shade wants Mario to get the Mirage Souls for him," Kooper answered. "Probably because they're an integral part of his plan. If we find out what Shade is actually going to do with the Mirage Souls, then maybe we can use them against him."

"Okay, then!' Ricky said. "We may not know for sure if it works, but if it might get me closer to discovering who I am, then I'm all for it! Let's go to the Forest Maze! ...Where is the Forest Maze?"

"Isn't it to the north, on the east side of Starshine Lake?" Goombella asked.

"Yes, it is," Peach said. "I recall passing by it that time the Smithy Gang tried to take over the kingdom."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's-" Ricky was interrupted by a ringtone from Kolorado's Mailbox SP.

"...Oh, no…"

"What's wrong?" Peach asked.

"See for yourselves." Kolorado turned the Mailbox SP around so they could read the message.

 _The dig site is under attack please send help_

That was all the message said. No signature, no punctuation, nothing. It was clearly rushed.

"WHAT?!" Wario shouted. "That dig site is exactly why I'm here! Someone's gotta protect it!"

"And, y'know, all of the innocent people working there…" Goombella muttered.

"If you're going out there, the dig site is straight north from here." Kolorado said.

"Alright. Thank you for everything, Kolorado!" Peach said. "And tell Professor Frankly thanks, too!"

"Will do. Now, get over there!" Everyone began to leave the tent, but before Goombella could join them, Kolorado stopped her.

"Here, take this." He handed her _The Future_.

"I'll keep it safe."

"I know you will."

Goombella left to catch up with the others.

The party of five took on the dreadful mountain range once again. While they were able to see ahead in the light of day, the sun provided its own problems. Merciless heat bore down on the crew. Mario used his cap as a fan when walking around the plateaus and mountains jutting out of the ground and reaching high into the sky.

"Can you tell us what is this expedition you and Kolorado are working on, Kooper?" Peach asked.

"Oh, yeah, I can. You know that Kolorado and I work a lot in this desert region, right?"

"Of course I know. It seems like you get your names put in the news at least once a month."

"That's because we know an ancient race of Koopas once called this land their homes. We've figured out that they likely lived alongside Yoshis and worshiped Chain Chomps like gods. But all of that information is just a result of answering our one, biggest question: where is the origin of this civilization of Koopas?" That question leads me into this recent discovery: We found some desert ruins under the ground here in the Rugged mountain range, and we have probable cause to think it might hold the key to the origin."

"That's because of the proximity to water, right?" Goombella asked.

"Yeah," Kooper replied. "Koopas are resistant to many things, but extreme heat is not one of them. They would need to carry water to cross the desert the way they did. The location of the ruins is not far from the Sunbeam River Basin. This would explain where Koopas would find a water source, a question plaguing Kolorado since the beginning of his investigation."

"But Mount Rugged and the Sunbeam Plains are divided by a canyon," Peach said.

"And what do you think formed that canyon?"

"...Ohhh. Running water. Of course!"

"Since most capitals are near big water sources, it's possible that we just dug up a remaining building from the capital city. We were working on actually finding a natural entrance to the building, but we were drawn away when Professor Frankly told Kolorado about _The Future_. We still had some people working on it, though."

"And someone there sent that emergency message?" Ricky asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

They continued onward in silence. Concern for the people working at the dig site slowly escalated in their minds as they continued moving. Soon the time came; they found themselves at the dig site, staring at a horrible scene.

"Oh, no…" Was all Peach could say.

Still statues made of copper were all around the dig site. These were no ordinary statues, however. The workers of the site had been transformed into these still, metal bodies. Peach recognized the power: Bowser had used it the very first time he had tried to take over the castle.

"These poor, poor people…" Ricky muttered.

"Who could've done this?" Goombella thought aloud. "Bowser was the one who owned this power, but he's imprisoned, isn't he?"

"I don't know," Peach said.

"You have the power to undo this, right, princess?" Kooper said.

"I did, but I haven't used it in ages… it would take too long to relearn it. Our better option is to find the guy who did this and take him down."

"But he could be anywhere!" Ricky stated.

"I'd guess he's probably in there." Peach pointed at the big square opening just barely out of the ground. The roof had caved in.

"Wow. All that work to find the entrance, and some guy just barges in and destroys it," Goombella said. "What a wasted effort on the researchers' parts…"

"Hey, we can probably still get in there." Ricky said. The group stood over the edge of the hole and looked into the room. Yet another hole led deeper into the ruins.

"Mario can float down. We should send him down to scout it out," Kooper said.

Mario agreed to it. He jumped into the ruins, ready for action. He slowly came closer and closer to the hole. Suddenly, the hole below Mario somehow fixed itself. Each and every sandstone brick placed itself exactly where it was before, leaving no weaknesses. Mario landed on the reforged surface.

"What the...!" Ricky exclaimed.

"How did that happen?!" Goombella asked.

"All Koopas used to have magic, not just Magikoopas," Kooper explained. "Maybe they enchanted this building to not lose its infrastructure. That'd explain how it's still here."

"But it does that, wouldn't it fix this hole-" Peach was interrupted when the hole actually began to reassemble.

"Oh, shoot!" Kooper exclaimed. Quickly, everybody jumped inside. The hole closed above them, leaving them in complete darkness. Once all of them hit the ground however, torches lining the walls set themselves alight.

"Torches activated by the presence of people? This building was ahead of its time…" Goombella said.

"Look!" Ricky pointed to a doorway leading into a room with a winding staircase. "Maybe we can reach where our perpetrator went through there."

The six hurried down the stairs. As they climbed downward, Mario was reminded of the many desert ruins he had traveled through in the past. This one in particular reminded him greatly of Dry Dry Ruins, not far from Dry Dry Outpost. The shades of orange that made up this building were almost identical. He wondered if they might've been created by the same architects.

The staircase brought them to a large, square room. The walkway they stood on fell away, leaving a wide gap between each side of the room, both ending at staircases. Water filled the floor below them, but it was nowhere near as high as they were. At the end of the pathway, a pedestal jutted out of the ground. Mario stepped onto the platform, and it leveled with the ground. Instantly, the pool of water grew in size and was just a bit short of flooding the walkway.

"Woah!" Ricky exclaimed.

"I get it now," Kooper said. "I think this place was built as a showcase of Koopa magic. This room must display some kind of compression magic…"

"Wait, stop!" Goombella shouted.

All around them, stone statues of Chain Chomps placed on platforms high above the walkway changed color and came to life. One by one, they dived into the water and began to swarm around the gap.

"One step in that and we're toast," She added.

"Then how will we get across…?" Peach asked.

"I bet _The Future_ has something that can help us," Goombella said. "Okay, let's see… blank page, blank page, blank page, oh! Here's the newest page. _As Goombella reads this novel, Ricky carries Kooper over the wat-_ wait, what?" She looked up and saw Kooper on the other side of the gap. "How did you-"

"Psychokinesis," Ricky said. "I can carry stuff with my mind. Here, let me put you on the other side." He carried her to the other end of the room and set her down.

"Wow, that's really cool! Where did you get that power…?"

"Wish I knew."

"Ohhh, right, amnesia. Sorry."

"It's fine."

Ricky got back to work and carried Kooper, Peach, and Wario over the gap. Finally he approached Mario to pick him up. However, none of his efforts moved the hero.

"...Dang," Ricky said as he let go of his invisible bond with Mario, "Why can't I move you?"

Mario suggested that, because the two had hybridized together, Ricky was attached to Mario, unable to leave his side or harm him in any way. He said he could simply glide over with his cape. He took a few steps backward to ready himself for the jump. With his added running start, he was easily able to cross the gap. Ricky floated over the pool and stood next to the hero once he hit the ground. The six of them travelled down the next set of stairs.

The next room had a large black-and-white checkerboard in the center. On the checkerboard were gigantic chess pieces arranged as they normally would be, with one exception; the white king and queen pieces were missing. A stone slab at the end of the room with the black pieces marked where the next staircase was.

"A chess game…?" Peach said.

"I think it wants two people to be the king and queen," Goombella remarked. "You and Mario seem like the perfect candidates. But if you want me to take over…"

"No, I'm fine," Peach said. "I can do this."

"Don't worry. I'll be your tactician," Kooper said.

Mario and Peach both stood at their respective positions. Suddenly, Mario and Peach's pieces changed form. They both looked in shock as Mario's old friends took the place of their pieces. Mallow and Geno were their bishops; Bombette and Admiral Bobbery were their knights; Lakilester and Watt were their rooks; and all of their pawns were Toads carrying lances, just like Peach's guards.

"What in the world?!" Peach exclaimed.

"Don't freak out!" Kooper said. "This place uses lots of magic, remember? They're just illusions."

"I don't know, they look pretty real to me!"

Just as the princess said that, the pieces of the black side changed form. Each piece type transformed into one of the many minion types found in the Koopa Troop, with Bowser and Bowser Jr. replacing the king and queen.

"Go on," Bowser said. "Make the first move. I dare you."

"Pawn, B4!" Kooper said.

And thus began the long and tedious battle between Kooper and the fake Bowser. With each call, the individual representing that piece moved without resistance. When one of them was struck, they disappeared in a puff of smoke. First, the pawns went toe to toe with each other. Many fell in the confrontation, but Kooper ultimately came out with more alive. After that, the main pieces went into play.

Peach found herself coming into play far more than she expected. As queen, she was capable to moving in any direction, which led to plenty of moments needing her aid. She was glad that the rules of the queen were at least easy to understand.

As Kooper and Bowser continued their game, Kooper noticed that he was more aggressive in his playstyle, paying more attention to who was down on the opposing side than protecting his own king. Kooper exploited this by drawing in his pieces with pawns to slay and then eliminating the remaining piece with a rook or bishop tucked away in the corner. One by one, the army of Bowser fell. No one was left to protect him. With one final blow by Peach, the fake Koopa king vanished in a puff of smoke. The wall blocking the door raised, allowing entry.

"Wow… that whole game took just four minutes or so!" Goombella exclaimed. "When did you get so good at chess…?"

Kooper shrugged. "I have lots of spare time between missions. I needed a hobby to fill in the time."

"Either way, that was still some fantastic playing."

"Aww, thank you."

"Shall we press onwards, then?" Peach asked.

"Yeah, we should hurry," Ricky said. "Those people out there still need our help."

The five descended once again. This time, they came to a strange room. The room opened up into what looked like space, with the floor being the only thing to stand on to view the cosmos. In the center of the floor was a large hole.

"This room must show off environmental illusions," Kooper said. "The wall is right here, probably." He puts his hand against the invisible wall.

"Illusion or not, this is really beautiful," Goombella remarked. "Didn't you travel the cosmos once before, Mario?"

Mario was shocked to hear this. He hadn't told her that he had been on an adventure across the universe. Had she been keeping up with what he did? But why would she? He was the one who had ignored her.

"It must've been an unforgettable experience, seeing not just the galaxy, but the whole universe… I so wish I could've come with you."

Kooper walked over to the hole and looked down. "This is probably where our criminal ended up," he said.

"We'll jump in whenever you're ready, Mario," Peach said.

Mario came up to the rim of the hole. He couldn't see a thing, but thought he could hear shuffling inside. He took a deep breath and jumped in, hitting the floor with a thud. Ricky came down with him and hybridized mid-fall. As soon as he hit the floor, the gigantic, circular room lit up, finally revealing their enemy. To his surprise, it was actually an old enemy of his named Tubba Blubba, a massive purple Spike with red hair and a spiky shell.

Kooper landed on the floor beside Mario and Ricky, who hybrided as preparation for the oncoming brawl. "What the- Tubba Blubba?!"

"Oh, look. Not one, but two of the guys who beat me up for trying to defend myself."

"You weren't just defending yourself, you were eating those Boos!"

"And they were ruining my life! They deserved the time they spent in my stomach. If it wasn't for you, they'd still be there right now! That's why I'm gonna take you down, now that I have more power from Master Shade!"

"Shade?!" Peach said as she and Goombella hit the ground. "Why are you working for him?"

"Because he was generous and understanding, unlike you."

"You're gonna pay for all of those poor people you turned into statues," Goombella said.

"Oh, really? How will you do that after I do _this_?"

Tubba Blubba's orange eyes gleamed with a bright light. Mario shielded his eyes with his arm until it ceased.

"...What? Why didn't that…"

Mario turned around. Kooper, Goombella, and Peach had all been turned into statues.

Ricky separated himself from Mario. "Oh, shoot," He muttered. "Maybe Mirage Soul powers don't work on other Mirage Souls…"

"Well, it looks like I'll just have to pummel you the old fashioned way!" Tubba Blubba exclaimed as he charged at Mario, planning to ram him with his head like a bull. Ricky returned to Mario as he dashed out of the path of the Spike. Tubba Blubba adjusted his charge, turning away from Mario's frozen companions. Mario jumped into the air, causing the Spike to slam his head on the wall.

"Owww…" The Spike says as he brought his hand to his forehead. Mario took the opportunity to land upon his head, dealing another blow. Tubba Blubba grabbed Mario as he tries to hop away. Mario struggled within Tubba Blubba's giant hand's grip, but was unable to free himself. Tubba Blubba threw the hero into the air and then uppercuts him. He hit the high ceiling hard and fell all the way to the floor.

Tubba Blubba stood over Mario, both hands tightened into a fist. Mario just couldn't find the strength to stand up. He thought back to his fight against Bowser that he presumed now was Shade himself. There, he had also been taken care of easily. _Why… why do I keep losing battles that should be easy?_ He thought. _What's wrong with me?_

Fortunately for Mario, despite being trapped in a solid form, his companions were conscious, on at least some level. And even more fortunately, one of them just so happened to hold an item that reacts to emotions.

Tubba Blubba turned his attention away from Mario and watched in horror as the princess destroyed her statue form, a gigantic fiery aura surrounding her.

"Don't you dare touch him!"

Peach ran at Tubba Blubba, jumped up, and struck him in the side of the head with her high heel. The beast fell to the floor, and next to him, an orange, ghost-like Koopa, with a ghost tail coming out the two holes in the shell that usually host the legs. Instantly, Kooper and Goombella returned to normal.

"Awww, did I win?" Peach said mockingly to Tubba Blubba as her fury dissipated along with her fire power.

"Wha… Where am I? What's going on?" Tubba Blubba asked, standing up. Peach's confidence was quickly swapped with concern as she approached the Spike.

"...Are you alright?"

"N-No! I was just taking an afternoon walk, and then this shadowy guy attacked me… I can't remember anything after that."

"You were forcefully hybrided with what looks like a Mirage Soul," Kooper explained after joining Peach. "According to Mario, they make you evil and change how you act."

"Evil? Did… did I hurt anybody?"

"Well, yeah, considering you froze an entire group of researchers, as well as a few of us," Goombella commented.

"Oh, no…" Tubba Blubba muttered as he sat down. "I've been trying so hard to lay low after that incident with the Boos. But now everybody's gonna hate me again…" Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Aww, you poor thing…" Peach said.

"I'm sure the researchers will understand, Tubba Blubba," Kooper said. "We already taught you a lesson, and, if what you're saying is true, you've been following it pretty well. You won't be hated, we promise."

"T-thank you…" The Spike said as he tried his hardest not to cry.

As this was going on, Mario, Ricky, and the second Mirage Soul were left to their own devices. Mario stood up and approached the Koopa alongside Ricky.

"So, there really are more of me…"

The Koopa let out a yawn. "That was a nice nap…" He opened his eyes. "Oh! Hey there. What's up?"

The ghostly Toad reached out, grabbed the hand of his fellow Mirage Soul, so glad that he could make contact with his new friend, and pulled him up. "Finally, another Mirage Soul! I can't believe I've finally met someone like me!"

"...Uh, Mirage Soul? Never heard of the term, bud."

Ricky's cheerful expression turned to one of worry. "Oh, no… don't tell me you don't remember anything, either…"

"Not much is really coming to mind, so I guess I don't."

"Shoot. I was really hoping you'd know something about us Mirage Souls. Frankly, I know as much as you do…"

"That's unfortunate. Anyway, the name's Koopsta."

 _Koopsta?_ Mario thought. He had never heard of anyone called Koopsta. Though, to be fair, he didn't know of anyone named Ricky T. either.

"It's Ricky. Nice to meet you."

Koopsta yawned. "Anyway, I think I'm gonna go back to sleep now."

"No, wait!" Ricky exclaimed. "Come with us. You won't have to do anything; since you're like a ghost, you can sleep inside Mario's body while he does all the work."

"Oh, alright. What's the harm?" Koopsta floated into Mario, marking their first hybrid. He and Ricky turned to face their friends, who were explaining to Tubba Blubba that Ricky could carry them out of the ruins. All Mario could think about was Peach's heroic save. He had nearly lost to Tubba Blubba, who he knew was not a difficult enemy from their last encounter, but Peach had struck him down in a single strike. They hadn't even went to check on him. What this meant for their adventures ahead, Mario couldn't be sure at all…


	6. A Terrifying Duo

**Before this chapter begins, I must make an apology to everyone who was following this story before its two month hiatus. All that I can say is that I'm sorry. A very, very powerful writer's block came over me from the end of December to the end of January, which both hampered the quality of Chapter 5 and brought progress on this chapter to a halt. I've come to the realization that working on as hard of a deadline as two weeks simply won't work anymore. As such, I cannot promise a due date on future chapters. If you're new, please enjoy this chapter that hopefully marks the comeback of _World in Shade_. If you read this before, thank you for sticking with me.**

 **-LukerGamerz**

* * *

"What?!" Shade exclaimed. "Mario's making his way to the Jewel of Fate?"

"At least, that's what our scouts say," Hazel said.

"But for what reason? The Jewel of Fate won't activate unless the Fated makes contact with it. And the Fated's still in his quarters at the east end of the prison, correct?"

"I checked with the guards just before receiving this news. They say he hasn't moved a muscle in days."

"Then why are they investigating something they can't even use?"

"I don't know, sir! The scouts said on the call that the Alliance thinks that Mario already has the Fated with him."

"Which one?"

"The red one. Ricky."

Shade paused for a moment. _No, there's no chance that Ricky is the Fated… that can't be possible._ He had played this plan in his head, over, and over, and over. There was no way he could've made as big of a flaw as giving the enemy the key to victory!

But it made so much more sense. He vividly remembered the bright red ruby glowing amongst the stars. He had witnessed the Jewel of Fate in all its beauty, two years ago… before tossing it away. All it was ever going to be was a reminder of what was supposed to happen, so why keep it? After that, he had ensured that the Fated was imprisoned and guarded at all times. But had he been wrong? Had that gem's color really reflected the person it was meant for…?

...This wasn't good news.

"Hazel, I know I said we should not interrupt Mario's Mirage Soul hunt, but… We cannot let them get ahold of the jewel. It would cause our entire plan to cave in on itself."

"Don't worry, sir, I'm way ahead of you," Hazel boasted. "I've tasked the… rookies to handle the job. They told me they would easily take care of it. Man, if only this didn't take effort on your part, we could create loyal minions just like them without ever needing force hybriding. Wouldn't that be cool?"

Shade nodded. "Agreed. Unfortunately, while it takes no effort to forge, alter, or remove memories, it does take effort to actually change how the memories make them feel. Making every minion follow me without question is beyond my limits and would surely destroy me. Such a tragedy."

"A tragedy indeed. Is that kind of effort how you…?"

"How I what?" The withered Magikoopa asked, though he already was pretty sure what direction that train of thought would be taking them.

"...Nevermind. It's not important," Hazel said.

 _Good. She remembers the rules._

"Anyway, the exchanging point is atop Booster Tower. The two of them said they'll be there at midnight. I assume you'd like me to take care of it?"

"Your assumption is correct."

"Alright then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some minions to manage." Hazel burst through the doors and left Shade's office.

 _I don't care if there was a flaw in my plans. No matter what, I won't let you win this battle, Mario_ , Shade thought. _Not again..._

* * *

Mario was shocked by just how fast business in the dig site had resumed. The statues of the researchers had been restored to their normal forms after Tubba Blubba had been defeated. After he, Peach, Kooper, and Goombella escaped the ruins, they were questioned by the researchers, but they seemed to understand the situation. The heartfelt apology from Tubba Blubba before he went on his way certainly eased their concerns.

Kooper had pulled out his Mailbox SP and began sending messages to Kolorado explaining the events that occured in the ruins. Everyone in the group peered over his shoulders, wanting to see the conversation.

 _What a mess… and an anomaly! I would've been down there myself if I wasn't busy managing the Alliance_ , Kolorado stated.

 _You would've loved it_ , Kooper answered. _It was like a magic show down there. Anyway, what should we do now? Come back to the Alliance?_

 _Absolutely not! You have to be out there, making progress to take down Shade. You certainly won't be doing that with us. Besides, we're planning on moving our base of operations to Toad Town. What you probably should do now is make your way to the Jewel of Fate, like we had mentioned during our meeting this morning._

 _How should we handle getting there?_

 _The quickest way to the Forest Maze would be to head through Kero Sewers to the Starshine Region. The pipe you'll be looking for is on top of Gusty Gulch, so you'll need to take a detour through Gloomy Woods to reach it._

Ah, yes, Gloomy Woods. Once named Forever Forest, those woods were home to the Boos. Those white, sphere-shaped ghosts haunted many of those living nearby. They usually didn't have ill intentions, however - they just wanted to get a laugh. The more vicious Boos lived near Bowser's Castle, taking over abandoned buildings and strongholds at his command. Mario wondered how Lady Bow, leader of a massive colony in a mansion on the east end of the woods, was doing.

 _Alright then, we'll be on our way. Thank you!_ Kooper closed his Mailbox SP and turned around. "Alright, everyone ready to go?"

"I'm ready if Mario's ready," Ricky stated.

"Let's get a move on," Goombella said.

"Agreed," Peach added. "The sooner we move, the sooner my kingdom is saved."

And so, the group made their way north. They endured the heat of the desert one last time before they finally crossed back into the Sunbeam Plains. From there, it was just a short walk to Gloomy Woods. The trees protected them from the Sun's light; a miracle after everything they had been through.

Mario, at the front of the crew, felt happy to see some woods again. Because of their haste, he hadn't been able to really take in Dimble Wood. Here, though, he could take in every bit of life and nature. The sounds of the birds tweeting in the treetops above, the scurrying of tiny creatures as they avoided the five of them… even the distant sound of a wolf from the scarier end of the woods made him happy. For as long as he could hear the sounds of the living, breathing forest, he was content.

Slowly, though, his joy turned into concern. The forest became quieter and quieter, until the only sounds he could hear was the footsteps of his party. Mario motioned for the crew to stop. An eerie silence greeted him. _This isn't right,_ he thought. _Something's wrong. Very wrong._

Goombella grabbed _The Future_ , but Kooper put his hand on the cover. He had his suspicions as well. Even the sounds of the flipping of pages could give an opportunity for their stalkers to make the first, possibly deadly, move.

Mario, Ricky, Peach, Kooper, and Goombella readied for battle against their enemy lying in the shadows. For what felt like hours, pure silence could be what described that forest, as if the woodland creatures themselves wished to watch the brawl.

And then, it happened.

 _Whack!_

Mario used the handle of his hammer to block their attacker's strike as they jumped down from the treetops. Mario finally got a look at the-

 _No. No… there's no way they did this. They couldn't have-_

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Jumpsalot."

 _...They did._

Mr. L took a few steps away from the group. Mario's brother was dressed in an identical outfit to the previous one he had been given while brainwashed some time ago - one with black overalls, a belt, a green bandana, and a black mask over his eyes which somehow made them look completely white.

"Oh, no…" Peach murmured. "Not this again…"

"What the heck - Luigi?" Ricky exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"I don't go by that name, kid. I'm…" Mr. L spun around and struck a pose. "...Mr. L, the Green Thunder!"

"He's been brainwashed," Peach explained. "He must work for Shade n-"

"You're sorely mistaken, Mrs. Damselindistress. If anyone's the brainwashed one here, it'd be the ones fighting for the wrong side!"

Kooper puts an arm in front of the princess. "It's my job to protect these guys. If you want to harm them, you're gonna have to get through me, first."

"You say that like it's going to be a challenge."

"I can assure you that it will be, considering there's five of us and one of you."

"I could take you all on at once with a hand tied behind my back!"

"Yeah?" Goombella interjected. "You and what army?"

"And where do you think you're going, princess?"

Peach, who had been backing away when nobody was looking, returned to the group in shock as a familiar voice spoke behind her. Mario's mouth gaped open. His former best friend was garbed in a blue jacket that hung open, exposing his white stomach. The hood of the jacket lay on his neck, begging to be put on. A pair of gigantic shades covered his eyes, their lenses being so dark that it was impossible to see his eyes through it. He was laying his back upon the tree next to him, his tail tucked under his legs.

Mario couldn't believe what he was seeing. Everything about them was just so… _wrong._ The kind hearts in each of them had been stripped away, traded for caricatures of arrogant and sly monsters. After his first encounters with the Green Thunder, Mario had always hoped that nobody would try to unleash that side of his brother again, but never in his life could he have imagined that someone would attempt it on the kind-hearted creature that he had come to care for so much. He felt… _repulsed_ by the concept of doing this to someone, regardless if they were an enemy to him or not.

Outside the noise of Mario's mind, time moved on, and the conversation continued. "Really, Muncher?," Mr L. said, facepalming. "All that time for a dramatic entrance and _this_ is what you're doing?"

Muncher shrugged. "Well, last time I checked, we weren't supposed to make a dramatic entrance. The objective was to get in and get out without any of them noticing us, remember?"

"Oh, don't be such a junior minion. This is our chance to prove to Shade that we're capable of taking his greatest enemies down!"

"The best minion follows every rule without question. By definition, _you're_ the junior minion."

"...Shut up! Let's just take them down and get what we need."

Muncher pushed himself off the tree and stretched an arm behind his head. "Whatever…"

Before Mario could even get ahold of the situation, Mr. L rushed towards Mario, hammer raised in the air. Mario hopped out of the way just in the nick of time. He watched as Muncher approached Peach, Kooper, and Goombella. Despite how little he wanted to, he knew he had to defeat his friends in combat. There was no way to avoid this fight.

As Mr. L tried to recover from his missed swing, Mario shoved him, sending him face first into the dirt. He quickly turned his body around and caught the head of Mario's hammer before it could hit his back. Mario tried his hardest to penetrate Mr. L's grip, with little success. He turned towards his ghostly friend.

Ricky took the cue and tried to pull the hammer out of Mr. L's hand… but nothing happened. Confused, he tried again. And again.

"What the heck…? Why can't I move them?" Ricky said, confused.

Suddenly, Muncher's tongue wrapped around Mario's hammer and yanked it away from the two of them, bringing it into his hand. He used the hammer to counter Peach's swing at him with her frying pan, sending it into the woods. In her moment of vulnerability, Muncher sweeped her legs with his tail, causing her to hit the ground on her side.

Kooper left Goombella to come to Peach's aid. Unsure what to do, she flipped through the pages of _The Future_ , hoping to find a premonition she could use to change the course of the battle with. Blank page after blank page, she came closer to the-

"GOOMBELLA!"

She looked up from the book to see Kooper, his shell wrapped up in Muncher's tongue, being swung in her direction. The blow from above left a crater in the dirt and an unconscious Goombella beside it.

Kooper stood back up, free from the grip of Muncher's tongue. He turned his head to the left and watched Mr. L pin Mario to a tree, both of their arms pushing against the other's. He retracted into his shell and sent himself rocketing towards Mr. L. He kicked away the shell as if it was nothing. Fortunately, the distraction was enough to give Mario the opportunity to overcome Mr. L and push him away.

Mr. L put a crooked smile on his face. He brandished his hammer and ran towards him once again. This time, Mario grabbed his cape and swiped it at him, changing the direction of his momentum and sending him running away from him… and into Kooper, who was returning to the battle. One blow from the hammer was all it took to knock him out.

"Mario, the princess!" Ricky exclaimed, helplessly watching the battle.

Mario watched as Peach made a break for her frying pan, Muncher giving chase right behind her. Mario took initiative and ran ahead of Muncher, blocking his way to the princess.

"You're gonna regret getting in my way," Muncher stated in an almost insultingly calm tone. Quickly, he dashed around Mario, grabbed his cape, and tugged hard. The cape pushed at Mario's neck, choking him as he tried to resist being pulled into a beating.

 _WHAM!_

Muncher stumbled away from the blow to the head by Peach, but he recovered shockingly fast. Mario and Peach were both ready to finish this

"Yeah, Mario! You can do this!" Ricky cheered.

"I wouldn't cheer for someone…" Muncher began.

"...who's already lost."

A second later, Mario was laying on the ground.

All he could feel was the pulsing of his heart. A loud, piercing ring lingered in his ears. A Bob-omb, thrown by Mr. L as he was distracted with Muncher. That must've been what had caused this pain.

He felt a presence next to him. Ricky. He wanted to call to him, ask for help, but he couldn't move a muscle, or even open his eyes. Then, beyond the ringing, he heard a noise. The sounds of a… vacuum? Then he heard a scream, and Ricky's presence left him.

The ringing began to fade. He could hear the click of a button, and a white flash blasted through his closed eyes.

"...there we go! The red Mirage Soul's been apprehended. That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Well, I'll admit, this was far easier than I thought it would be. We really should've just taken him and run, though."

"Who cares? We won! For the first time, I've finally beaten Mario in combat…"

"Quit being so dramatic. Our little victory isn't worth crying over. We're not even allowed to finish them."

Mario could hear the quiet sounds of sniffling as he spoke. "I'm sorry, I'm just… so happy that people will finally know my name. Mr. L, slayer of Mario…"

"Will you just shut up about it already? We've still got a mission to finish."

"Oh, right, yeah. The exchanging point's over at Booster Tower, right?"

"The top of it, at midnight."

Booster Tower. Mario recognized the name. Before it was abandoned, it was ruled by a guy named Booster, who held Peach captive during the conquest of the Smithy gang. A while after that adventure had been settled, he and his newly married wife, Valentina, sought a different location to have their fun, leaving the tower vacant. It was the perfect place for the villains to meet.

"Then let's get moving. The sooner this guy gets to Shade, the sooner I get recognized for the fantastic minion I am."

"Whatever you s- wait a minute. Something about this doesn't sit well with me…"

"Huh?"

Mario heard footsteps approach his nearly limp body. A hand slipped under his chin and brought his head up. He opened his eyes to see Muncher looking straight at him.

"I knew it." Muncher twisted to his right, presumably towards Mr. L. "Good job, idiot. Mario just heard everything we've been saying!"

"What?! How could he… is he still conscious?"

"Hanging on by a thread. Don't worry about it. I'm gonna talk some sense into this twerp. Go ahead without me."

He heard Mr. L's footsteps as he departed from the battleground. Suddenly, Muncher turned his head back to face the fallen hero. Mario was as close to Muncher's eyes as he thought he could possibly get. And yet, he still wasn't able to see Muncher's eyes beyond his shades. He wondered how Muncher could even see through such dense eyewear.

"Listen here. I've been ordered to keep you alive right now. But I can promise you this; if you even think of following us, I won't hold back. I will make you and everybody you care about suffer, the same way you did to me. I will wipe that cheap, fake smile off your face for everybody to see. So, if you value yours and your friends' lives, you'd best stay away from me. Got it?"

Muncher didn't even wait for a response. "Good. Enjoy your nap." And with that, Muncher removed his hand from under Mario's head, causing him to faceplant and drift away.

* * *

Mario's eyes shot open. He found himself in a dark room, lying on a very comfortable bed. Next to him was Peach, sitting on the bed and watching him.

"...Mario? Are you awake?" She asked.

Mario nodded his head glumly. He no longer hurt physically, but his mind was anything but healed.

"We're in Boo's Mansion. Lady Bow told Kooper, Goombella, and I that Tubba Blubba brought us here. He had said that he had found them lying on the forest floor. He fought his fears and brought all of us to the mansion, knowing that Bow was friends with you. You've been resting longer than any of us…"

Mario turned away from the princess in the bed. How could he look at her? He was anything but her hero right now.

"Is Ricky alright?"

Without looking at her, Mario told Peach about how Ricky had been apprehend by Muncher and Mr. L. He didn't mention Muncher's threat towards them

"I'm so sorry. As soon as you're ready, we'll go after those two and get him back." Peach got off the bed and headed towards the door out of the bedroom. She pulled the door open, creaking as it went. "I'm going to tell the others about the kidnapping. Whenever you feel better, come on down. Goombella has your cape, by the way."

As Peach slowly closed the door, Mario put his hand to his neck. She was right; his cape had been taken off him. How many pairs of hands was he passed to before being put on the bed? He should've been awoken by all of that commotion; he was a heavy sleeper, sure, but not _that_ much of one.

Mario pulled the covers off him and got out of the bed. He walked over to one of the windows in the back of the room and looked outside. A depressing sight greeted him; endless dead trees reached out far from the mansion, until they found the cliffside that dropped off into a gigantic lake. To the right, a drier, canyon-like area named Gusty Gulch began. That region held the pipe into the abandoned Kero Sewers, nowadays used as the main path between the far lower areas around Starshine Lake and the rest of the kingdom. A broken and lifeless forest under a contradictory beautiful sunset, silenced by a force outside his control… Mario supposed that somewhat represented how he felt right now.

 _I will make you and everybody you care about suffer, the same way you did to me._ That statement played back in his head, over and over. That wasn't just a threat to him; it was one to the entire team. He had to get Ricky back - that was for sure - but doing so could get a member of the group hurt, or worse.

Above him, he could hear the group talking with Lady Bow in her quarters upstairs.

"What do you plan to do now?" Lady Bow asked.

"What else can we do? We have to catch up to them and get Ricky back," Goombella stated.

"But we barely even know where they're going," Peach argued. "We've done nothing for almost an hour now. How can we possibly catch up?"

"We have to try," Kooper said. "Not just Ricky, but Mr. L and Muncher are all our friends - at least, they usually are. Would they want us to just watch and let them win?"

Kooper may have had the right mindset, but he knew that those two would be too much for them. They were already decimated during their last fight. How could they possibly stand against them when they weren't holding anything back? There was only one thing he could do to save them. He quickly reached into his overalls and pulled out a pen and a notepad and began writing.

 _Peach, Kooper, and Goombella,_

 _I have to thank you guys for your continued desire to fight alongside me, but I'm afraid this is where we part. There was something I didn't tell you about our encounter with Mr. L and Muncher. Muncher… he threatened me. He said that, if I got in his way at all, they wouldn't hold back whatsoever. Those two would be dead set on finishing all of us. I can't let you guys try to waste your lives for a mistake I created. This is my fight, and mine alone. My suggestion? Return to the Alliance, in Toad Town. When I come back, we can continue our hunt for the Mirage Souls. I'm sorry that it's come to this, but it's for the safety of everyone._

 _Stay safe,_

 _Mario_

After finishing writing thet note, Mario set it down on the bed and peeked outside of the room, careful to avoid making any noise doing so. He knew that not a soul roamed the foyer of the mansion. Boos feared the light, and considering the evening sun, most would simply hide away until night overtook the forest. This allowed Mario to venture down the stairs and reach the front door undetected. Even on the ground floor, he could still hear the chattering of Peach, Kooper, and Goombella. He paused for just a moment, his hand on the doorknob. Was this the right thing to do? Should he really leave what he still had left?

 _It's for their own safety,_ Mario reassured himself one last time before exiting the mansion. He made his way east, entering Gusty Gulch. Just ahead of him, he could see the shambling village that marked the home of the indigenous Boos of the wastelands. Mario took a left turn away from the village, to avoid the civilization. If he wanted to pull this off, he would have to leave silently.

It didn't take long before he finally reached his destination: the warp pipe leading into Kero Sewers. It would provide him with the route towards Booster Tower… and Ricky. He stood next to it and peered inside. He was met with a black shadow that enveloped the pipe; one that could only be unveiled by jumping inside.

He had nothing. No hammer. No cape… no friends. But he had to do it this way. There was no other-

"Hey, Mario."

Goombella stood behind him.

"I saw your note, on the bed… all three of us noticed you were missing, but I was the only one who found it. I just wanted to talk with you before you left, for just a moment."

Mario turned around. He was greeted with a look of concern from his old friend… and a yellow cape draped over her head.

"I thought you would want this before you go. I'll give it to you, if you hear me out."

Mario slowly nodded.

"Look. I deeply appreciate how much you're looking out for all of us. I really, really do. But I'm not just gonna let you go it alone. Let me read to you the conclusion of _The Past_." She pulled out the book and flipped to what looked like the last page.

" _This concludes my chronicles of the past. Do not fret, however. Like the Star Spirits always intended, the seven Star Children's lives will forever intertwine, endlessly twisting and turning as time moves forward, and I will see it all with my many eyes. But there is one thing I can assure those reading: when the Star Children all fight for a single cause, a single destiny, a single hope… that will mark the end of my story._ "

"It says here that the fight will end thanks to the seven Star Children, specifically. With that said, I want to ask you two questions: why am I here, and why is Kooper here? We don't have magical destinies, or wild powers, or royalty status, or anything. To most of the world, we're nobodies. The reason we're here, Mario, is because we _want_ to. We _want_ to fight and see this through to the end, even if that means losing our lives. And it's all because you're our friend, and friends don't leave each other behind. Can you at least give us that choice? To stand with you, in your darkest times?"

Mario just stood there, dumbfounded. Someone that he had only adventured with a single time had just told him that she would give his life fighting for him. How could she want that? How could _anyone_ want that, for the amount of time spent with him? And then, he looked away from Goombella's eyes and gazed at his cape. That cape…

He thought back to the day that he was given that cape feather. Mario, Luigi, and Peach were preparing to return to the Mushroom Kingdom, their duties in Dinosaur Land having been fulfilled. However, this would mean leaving Yoshi behind. As Mario had said his last goodbyes while Peach and Luigi readied the hot air balloon, Yoshi held out his hand, with the cape feather in his palm.

"Here in the Yoshi Clan, it's tradition to give a cape feather to someone that you may not see again," Yoshi had explained. "When you spend time with someone, you gain an attachment to them. It might be positive, or it might be negative, but it's there nonetheless. A desire to see someone again will linger for a long time in the hearts of those who separate. The cape feather is a representation of that desire; a want to fly to them, no matter how far away they are."

It was then that Mario understood. Goombella and Kooper only travelled with him a single time, and yet they tried their hardest to stay in touch. They must've felt like Yoshi did; it didn't matter to them that what he did was dangerous, or they were too far away. They cared so much for him that they would cross the Earth to see him.

Mario approached Goombella and put the cape in his arms. In that moment, he and Yoshi thought they would never see each other again. But, in the end, they found each other. It didn't matter to them that they were distant for so long; they acted like they had always been together. The very same held true now, with Goombella and Kooper. Neither of them cared about the fact that Mario had stopped messaging them. When they heard something would possibly put both him and the kingdom in jeopardy, they came to fight with him. Not because they had to, but because they were friends.

For the first time, Mario spoke to her. He thanked her for being such a dependable friend. He wouldn't ignore the feelings of the very people he fights to protect. The three of them were allowed to fight alongside him, against his greatest fears, if that was what they desired.

Goombella looked towards Mario with a gleam of joy in her eyes. "Thank you so much! Kooper and I won't let you down, I promise."

Mario smiled and told her she was right.

* * *

The moonlight shined down upon Tadpole Pond as Mario, Peach, Kooper, and Goombella ran alongside its borders. An eerie silence greeted them. Some time ago, this place was filled with life and joy, but now…

The four of them had left the mansion quickly after Goombella returned with Mario in tow. They had simply said their goodbyes to Lady Bow and went on their merry way. They had ventured through the abandoned Kero Sewers and soon found themselves upon the small ring nearly at sea level in the northernmost part of the kingdom known as the Starshine Region.

In the distance, Mario could see lights from the homes of Rose Town. It would be a short walk from there to the Mole Mountains, the last obstacle between them and Booster Tower.

Once they entered the town, he ordered the rest of the group to stop and catch their breath. They stood there, exhausted from the nonstop run. Mario's own chest burned and his heart raced, despite being used to the turmoil. He gazed up at the Moon. He could tell it wouldn't be long until the moment of truth.

"Phew, what a run…" Peach said past her heavy breathing.

"We've made good time," Kooper said. "If we keep running like this, we might be able to catch up to Mr. L and Muncher."

Mario asked everyone once again if they were absolutely sure that they wanted to continue.

"Mario, we can handle this," Peach answered. "Trust us."

Mario didn't push them. He was going to respect their dedication, as much as he didn't want to. Once everyone seemed less tired, they decided to seek knowledge in the inn.

"Welcome to the - oh!" The woman taking care of the inn said as Mario entered. "Good evening, Mario! It's been a long time."

"It certainly has been," Peach responded as she followed Mario inside.

"Wow, the princess is with you as well? What a reunion!" the innkeeper peered around the two to see the remaining guests. "And you two would be…"

"I'm Kooper, and this is Goombella. We're friends of Mario." Kooper walked up to the innkeeper and offered a handshake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," She reached out and took the handshake. "So, what brings you all here? Business or pleasure?"

"Actually, the four of us aren't here to sleep for the night," Goombella answered. "We have some… things to handle tonight."

"We really came here to ask you something," Peach continued.

"Alright, fire away."

"You wouldn't happen to have seen a man with a mask, a cap and a mustache? And a yoshi in a blue jacket wearing big sunglasses?" Goombella asked.

"Oh, yeah! My son said that he saw two people who fit that description walking through town."

"When was this?" Kooper asked.

"Well, he said he saw them fifteen minutes before bedtime, and it's been about another fifteen minutes since I tucked him in, so… half an hour ago?"

"Just half an hour?! They must be close!" Peach exclaimed.

"You have business with them, I'm guessing?"

"You could say that," Kooper said.

"Well, then I'd best not keep you four waiting. Thanks for dropping on by!"

"Thank you for the info!" Goombella ended the conversation as the group began to leave. Just a moment later, they were already departing from Rose Town, now walking towards the Mole Mountains by going around the Forest Maze. Mario stared into the forest longingly as they moved around its borders. If Ricky were here, somewhere within this forest would've been their destination. They finally would've found answers to the endless questions that continued to pile up. He was sure the time for answers was coming, but it simply wasn't now, as much as he wanted it to be.

The crew could instantly tell where the forest ended and the mountains began. The gray of stone filled in gaps between patches of grass. The ground slowly began to incline, making walking just a bit more difficult. Ahead of them, they could see the peak of the great Mole Mountain for which the region was named for. A journey around the mountain and a short walk would be all that's needed to reach Booster Tower.

A hint of concern entered Mario's thoughts. What if Mr. L and Muncher had already made it to Booster Tower? Perhaps they had already sent off Ricky to who knows where, and they were just on a wild goose chase that would potentially last forever. Regardless, he and his friends pressed on, the hope for Ricky's safety and the ability to catch up held in their hearts.

Eventually, they came to a complete roadblock. A rocky wall, reaching high into the air barred their progress. Mario could tell from a glance that scaling the wall would be difficult, if not impossible, thanks to the top of the wall jutting outwards, effectively creating a small ceiling they would have to scale on top of the wall itself. Mario informed the crew that, instead, he could take them up to the top one at a time, using a jump empowered by his cape.

"Right," Peach responded. "Which of us should go first?

"I think it should be you first, princess," Kooper answered.

"Alright." Peach walked in front of Mario. "I'm all yours."

Mario put one hand to Peach's back and another to her legs, then turned her to the side so she lied precariously in his arms.

"How romantic," Goombella teased. The statement was followed by a light kick from Kooper. Goombella laughed at the passive-aggressive gesture.

Ignoring Goombella, Mario took a few steps back, gauging the distance needed to get the running start for the jump. Eventually, he came to a point where he was sure he could get the height needed without crashing into the wall. With a deep breath, Mario charged at the wall at full speed. He could see the look of slight concern on Peach's face, but he greeted it with a smile.

And then, he jumped. The power of the cape boosted his jump once again, sending him to an astronomical height. He moved parallel to the wall, with it nearly touching Peach's dress as they ascended. Higher and higher they went, until they finally reached the to-

"I warned you."

Mario went into freefall. His face felt like it was on fire. He remembered this feeling - it was the same sting that the shots of the arm cannons from the SupaMerge Epidemic, as it had come to be known as, had given him. What mattered more, however, was that Peach was no longer in Mario's hands.

He fell, and he fell, and he fell.

And then he was caught.

He landed safely in the arms of Kooper. He struggled against the pain and opened his eyes.

"Don't worry. I've got you."

He twisted his head to the side and watch as Peach slowly fell to the ground, her downward momentum being mostly negated by a parasol that had somehow been produced from her dress. Mario hopped out of Kooper's arms and darted towards the princess, asking her if she had been hurt during the fall.

"Mario, I'm fine," she answered, dusting off her dress with her hand.

Above them, the four could hear the laughter of Mario's brother.

"Oh, man, you got him _good_!" Mr. L exclaimed. "Did you see the look on his face when he saw you pointing that arm cannon straight at him?"

"Yeah, that's why I fired," Muncher snarked.

"You!" Goombella shouted at them. "How the heck did you know that we were following you? We were almost an hour behind!"

Mr. L peered over the cliffside, making himself visible for them to see. "Why do you think we strolled through town in the first place, Mrs. Supernerd?"

"He made their presence at Rose Town obvious so someone would direct us to their location… smart," Kooper said.

"...Hey, wait a minute. Did you just call me **Mrs.** Supernerd? I'm not married..."

"Oh, really?" Mr. L began to answer. "I thought you were having yourself a good time with Mr. Supernerd over there."

Goombella looked at Mario, Peach, and finally Kooper. Then the joke hit the two of them like a ton of bricks. "Eww, what the heck?!" She exclaimed as she jumped away from Kooper.

Mr. L burst into laughter before leaving the cliffside. "Here, take the Poltergust 7,000," He said as his laughter subsided. "I'll take care of these losers."

"As you say," Muncher stated bluntly. The sounds of the exchange and Muncher's footsteps reached the ears of the party.

Quickly, Mario sprung into action. With the new threat of the chase hanging over them, Mario took a closer look at the features of the stone blockade and realized that, with some well-timed jumps, he could probably scale it. And scale it he did, hopping from one stone just barely jutting out of the wall to the next like an acrobat. It only took him about ten seconds until he was holding on to the edge of the cliff.

Above him, Mr. L kneeled down at the edge of the cliff, aiming his arm cannon at the remaining three, who had gone into some kind of huddle. "Now, which one of you goes fir-"

At that moment, Mario pushed his body forward, giving him the momentum to swing his legs so they would face upwards towards the sky. As this happened, Mario let go of the ledge, allowing his momentum to carry him upwards. His two feet struck the arm cannon in the maneuver. In a panic, Mr. L fired a shot as his arm was flung backwards by the blow.

Mario landed flat on his back. His head dangled over the edge of the cliff. One inch backward and he probably would've fallen right off. He moved to sitting position just as Mr. L regained his composure from stumbling backwards. Mr. L looked up, yelped, and darted away from Mario. Mario looked up himself and saw the white ball of energy about to fall right on him.

Quickly, he dived out of the way. The ball just missed him and instead hit the cliff, causing the impact zone to break off and fall to the ground.

Mario stood back up just in time to narrowly dodge another shot fired at him. He and Mr. L locked eyes for a moment before Mario broke the stare and ran off. He found some shelter behind a nearby rock.

"You're gonna hide like a coward now? Alright then," Mr. L said. "I'll just pick off the easier targets."

Mario peered around his cover to watch as Mr. L approached the cliffside again. He readied his weapon.

"How about no?"

Goombella's voice was almost immediately followed by her, Kooper, and Peach emerging from the cliff, spinning around like a tornado, and a prompted kick to the side of Mr. L's face thanks to Kooper's extended leg during the rotation. The three of them disassembled their stack as the yellow aura representing joy faded from Peach. The Vibe Scepter was held close to Peach's chest.

"Who knew happiness could make someone spin so fast they ascend?" Goombella said.

"It's all thanks to this." Peach jokingly waved the wand at the goomba to answer her rhetorical question.

The happy expressions on the three's faces faded as a shot from Mr. L lying on his side just barely missed Peach's head. _It's only a matter of time before one of those shots hit,_ Mario thought.

The three hurried ahead, unaware of Mario's position, along a wide pathway moving around Mole Mountain's left side. Behind them, Mr. L readied another shot.

Mario knew exactly what to do. Just as Mr. L fired, he sacrificed his hiding spot, ran in front of the blast, and swiped at it with his cape.

The attack had the intended effect. Mario watched as the destroyed arm cannon flew into the air and off the cliff.

"NO!" Mr. L shouted as he watched his weapon fall out of reach. He turned back towards Mario with a look of fury on his face.

Mario wasted no time to see what he would do next. He chased after his friends and left Mr. L behind him. He soon caught up with the others and informed him of the disarming as they continued running along.

"Nice work!" Peach replied. "Watching you pull all of that off was amazing. I've missed your crazy way of fighting that always guaranteed you the win, hehe."

For the first time in a while, Mario felt like the praise was well-placed.

Onward they charged, passing Mole Mountain and the little village at its base by. In the distance, they were able to see their destination for the first time: Booster Tower. Mario's chest pounded as they ran, but he didn't care at all - the goal was finally in their sight.

They quickly found themselves on a narrow, winding pathway trapped between two tall hills. Upon these hills were some of the few remnants of plant life in this rocky region: trees, just like the ones filling the Forest Maze. Mario didn't recall passing by any pathways like this one the first time he came through here. He must've taken a different route to the tower last time.

Suddenly, behind him, he heard the shout of the princess, followed by a _thud_. He turned around to see her laying face-down on the rocky stone pathway. He noticed that the back of her dress had a serious scorch mark - _from another arm cannon_ , Mario presumed. Quickly, he darted his eyes all around them, but the attacker didn't make his presence clear. They all stood still for a moment, waiting for the next move to be made.

This time, Mario heard the whirr of the shot fired at him.

Thinking fast, Mario turned around and swiped at the blast just in time. It was sent into a tree, which caused its leaves to burst into flames and a branch to fall off, but no body dropped. The attacker had already migrated into a new position. With the new knowledge of their hiding locations, he quickly took a gander into all of the trees surrounding him.

That was when he saw him. Muncher had his arm cannon fixated straight on the hero, in the closest possible tree to the pathway. His tongue reached out of his mouth and up into the leaves of the tree, likely wrapped around one of the branches, while his boots held on to the side of the tree to stabilize his aiming position. The Poltergust 7,000 (which, frankly, looked identical to the Poltergust 5,000, from the red and gray color scheme, to the design of the vacuum handle, to the green orb on the back) hung onto Muncher by the shoulder straps.

Instead of firing again, Muncher, aware of Mario's discovery, tried something different. He removed his feet from the side of the tree, causing him to drop a little, and then flung himself upward with his tongue like a slingshot. Mario readied his cape as the yoshi readied another shot in midair…

...before turning the arm cannon away and firing at Goombella.

Mario watched the blast move from the gun to the goomba, instantly knocking her out of commission once again. He had no time to react as Muncher landed on him. He was pinned to the ground by Muncher's boots taking their place on his kneecaps and his hands on his wrists. Mario knew what he was doing; all he had to do was wrap his tongue around Mario's neck, and that would be the end for him. He peered between Muncher's legs to watch as his friends tried to approach him, only to be interrupted as Mr. L emerged and held two hammers in an X formation around Peach's neck, the heads of each hammer pressing against a side of the throat. He said something to Kooper that caused him to stop completely in his tracks. He was on his own now.

He looked back up into the black voids where Muncher's eyes should be. Was this it? Was he and his maiden going to be slain by his best friend and his brother with no remorse? He shut his eyes, and instead imagined he was being slain by someone else. Bowser… Wario… a random Goomba. At the moment, anything seemed better than his actual killer. He struggled as much as he could, but Muncher didn't budge at all.

"Aww, you think you still have a chance at overpowering me," Muncher mocked. "Well, don't say that I didn't tell you this would happen."

Muncher was right. He had brought his friends into the fray, and look what happened. One of them was unconscious, one of them was about to be killed, and the last one was stuck between a rock and a hard place. And it was all his fault for letting it happen. The last time he had just watched a scene unfold, it had severed the morale of his friends. Now this time, it would claim his life, by the very same people as the last mistake. _An ironic way to die_ , he supposed.

He wished that he could turn back the clock, or at least stop it for just a moment. Maybe he could've talked with them, showed them who they were, and get them to turn over a new leaf. Or, even better, he could just undo his error in the first place, telling them to stay behind while he handled the scary, dangerous tower…

...and that was when a miracle happened.

Mario opened his eyes to discover that Muncher had been turned into a copper statue.

 _...Koopsta!_ He recalled the orange Mirage Soul lying inside of his body. He internally thanked the koopa profusely. With no resistance, he slipped his arms and legs out from under the statue and crawled out from under the statue's tail.

"Oh, you've gotta be -" was all Mr. L could say before Mario glared at him and he suffered a similar fate. Peach quickly ducked out of the lock she had been held in. As Kooper went to comfort the princess, Mario hurried and checked on the Goomba lying on her back. He called her name twice before she spoke again.

"Owww… my head."

Mario breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't unconscious - just hurt. She hopped back onto her feet like nothing happened. "Hey, wait. Where did Muncher go?"

Mario turned around and noticed that Muncher really was gone. The statue effect must've worn off while he wasn't looking, and he scurried away… with Ricky still on his back. Just as Mario came to this conclusion, Mr. L's statue form came undone as well.

"- kidding me!" He was only able to finish that sentence before Mario made him a statue again, restarting his cycle. The four of them took quick glances and nods at each other before hurrying off after Muncher. Mario found himself blazing ahead of the others. A quick turn back, however, showed the crew ushering him to keep going with hand gestures. Mario took the hint and kept his pace up.

As he ran along, he began to take notice that, once again, his gloves were covered in red powder. Was it residue from the copper statues? No, it couldn't be. How did he get the powder on his gloves at the party that night so long ago, then? He decided not to question it: he had more important matters to deal with right now.

It wasn't long until the brown tower that reached into the heavens was finally in front of him. He darted into the lobby without a second thought. The dead silence that greeted him within the tower, with the checkered floors and the similarly brown colored walls, was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because that meant that there was probably no one this part of the tower, and a curse because that meant that there was probably no one in this part of the tower.

Mario ran through the all too familiar hallways with fear in his heart. Was it too late? Were they gone already? He swallowed his concerns, hoping for the best.

He diverged from the main path and instead entered one of the doors in the middle of a hall. There, he found himself standing in front of what looked like a seesaw, with a platform leading to another door higher in the tower hanging over it. The perfect shortcut… if he could find something to launch him. Perhaps Peach or Kooper could do it? He returned to hallway to see if his friends had caught up with him… and was met with a hammer blow to the head.

Mario stumbled backwards from the strike as Mr. L loomed over him with his two hammers. As a blow from both hammers threatened to knock him out, Mario blocked the attacks with his arms, slipping them under the barrels to hold the sticks instead. The two struggled once again, but this time, Mario was determined to keep pushing on. Just as the sounds of footsteps trailed behind them, Mario overwhelmed his brother, causing him to step back. Immediately, he was punished by a blow to the head thanks to Peach's frying pan. He hit the ground and stopped moving.

Immediately, the group readied to launch Mario on the seesaw. Peach, Kooper, and Goombella formed a three-person stack with Kooper standing atop Goombella's head and holding Peach on his shoulders. Mario was impressed that they were able to hold a formation like that long enough to toss Peach into the air so she could land on the opposite end of the seesaw and send Mario flying.

Well, him and Mr. L, who had finished faking unconsciousness and joined Mario on the platform at the very last second.

Mr. L was the lucky one. The momentum sent him above the platform, skipping the extra step Mario would have to take climbing up the ledge. This put him behind, which was really, _really_ bad. If Mr. L reached Muncher at the exchange point, then they could all leave together, and everything they had just went through would've been for nothing.

Upwards they scaled, getting closer and closer to the top of the tower. Despite how crucial it was, Mario simply couldn't catch up to Mr. L. He was beginning to run out of stamina.

Finally, Mario burst through the final door to the balcony. There they stood. Mr. L and Muncher both were at the other end of the balcony, with the Poltergust dangling by a strap in Muncher's right hand. The magikoopa garbed in pink, who was approaching the two upon her broomstick, stopped completely in her tracks at the sight of Mario. Directly above them, the Moon glowed with a subtle intensity - it was midnight.

"Oh, it's you," she stated loathingly.

"This prick's been chasing us fthe whole way here," Muncher explained. "He's been looking for this." He tossed the bag at Hazel, who somehow managed to catch it.

"Of course he was. Too bad for him, I guess. This thing's going straight to Shade."

"But what about us, Hazel?" Mr. L asked.

"Oh, you two will come too. Just take care of that menace for me, and the getaway's all yours."

 _No. This ends here._

In just seconds, Mario charged at Mr. L, slid under Muncher's tongue as he attempted to stop him, grabbed a hammer - his hammer - and threw it off the balcony.

All of them stared at Mario in stunned silence.

"What was the point of - AGH!"

Ricky, from within the Poltergust, followed through with the attack. The attack of the hammer rising from below caused Hazel to drop the device. Before anyone could do anything to stop him, Mario dived off of the balcony and caught one of the straps with his hand. Wind filled his ears and threw his cap off his head as he rocketed towards the ground.

He was falling, but now he needed no saving. The yellow cape on his back magically slowed his descent once he was close to the ground, saving him from harm. Soon enough, his shoes once again pressed against soil. Mario reached his arms into the air, and he was met with his cap in one hand and his hammer in the other, thanks to some guidance from Ricky.

As he placed his cap back on his head and slipped his hammer into his overalls, Mario looked up and watched as their three enemies departed from the tower, all riding upon the same broom. He could see a pair of round glasses and two white dots staring down at him. Peach, Kooper, and Goombella joined him in witnessing the ones they had been fighting against all day finally retreat in defeat.

In that moment, Mario remembered what he was thinking about when Muncher was so close to finishing him off. He had felt guilt, weakness, and inability to help people when it really mattered. But now, he realized that he was just fabricating those feelings because of something out of his control. In the end, he had helped out a friend and saved him from what could've been the same fate as Luigi and Yoshi. And, for the time being, that was enough for him to feel a little better.

* * *

As the flaming embers of the Darklands fought against the moonlight, four figures danced around the pits of lava threatening to consume them all. They marched along a "trail" (which was really nothing more than an invisible line where lava usually didn't tread that Bowser convinced himself was one) with no real goal in sight other than trying to escape the boiling region. All four of them desperately wished they were an average joe, so they could venture through the Minion Block and instead enjoy themselves in the Twinsy Tropics, but that wouldn't be the case for any of them.

"...Lord Bowser, are we lost?" Private Goomp asked the koopa king for what felt like the millionth time.

"Yes. Yes we are," Bowser finally admitted. 'Now will you shut up about our path?"

"To be fair," Sergeant Guy interjected, "there isn't exactly that much else to talk about."

"Alright then, let me give you a subject to talk about. How about, I don't know… that Shade guy's impressions of me?"

"Oh, it was so impressively in-character, Lord Bowser!" Private Goomp exclaimed. "That fake sounded exactly like you. He said things such as, well, um… how much he cares about his ki- wait, no, that was assembly before that one..."

"You've forgotten, Private?" Sergeant Guy interrupted the goomba's train of thought. "But how could you possibly forget when he said that, er… nope, nevermind, I'm drawing a blank too."

Bowser stopped for a moment so he could properly facepalm. "How do you forget something that was _literally ingrained into your minds_?"

"Your Curiousness," Kammy said in a tone informing Bowser that he was about to get an information dump. "Magic is powerful, but it never lasts forever. If one were to sever ties with the person who created the false memory for long enough, they would forget about the memory even if they have no magical experience. You said that you met up with the goomba squad two days ago, correct?"

"Yup, no thanks to those losers I was working with." He sent a menacing glare towards Private Goomp to inform him that he was not allowed to correct Bowser's statement.

"Two days should be ample time for the memory to be subconsciously erased from someone's brain, so that's probably why Private Goomp can't remember anything about Bowser's part of the assembly. Something similar is probably happening to the others in the squad."

"Or they could just be really dumb," Bowser suggested.

"An equally possible answer," Kammy agreed.

"Hey, not cool!" Private Goomp exclaimed, but did not follow up with evidence proving that the suggestion couldn't be the case. The group simply fell silent again as they pressed on, praying that they were moving away from Shade's Tower and not towards it. Fortunately for them, their prayers would soon be answered… but not in the way they had hoped.

After hours of hopelessly wandering through the Darklands that looked identical at each turn you took, they had finally reach the chasm that marked their escape from the inferno. That is, if there was a way to get past. No bridge greeted them here - just the river of obsidian below, formed from the lava dripping into the bottom of the chasm mixed with the water flowing between the two landmasses.

"We're probably in the northern reaches," Sergeant Guy said. "Obsidian is usually only found near where both landmasses end and the sea opens up."

Bowser knew of the caverns to the south in which one could reach the Bumpsy Plains, and the bridge they had crossed near the middle of both regions, but as far as he knew, there was no northern pathway.

"This gap is so long…" Kammy murmured. "I doubt the entire tribe could make a big enough bridge to cover the whole thing."

"So we're stuck, then?"

"As far as I know."

Bowser sighed in disappointment and stared longingly at the other side. He had gotten his hopes up that they were heading the right way, but now they would have to walk for even longer amongst the flames. He wished he could travel to the haven (at least, a haven in the Koopa Kingdom) of the now dormant Thwomp Volcano. There, he could relax and unwind in one of the many hot springs hosted in the area. But those vacation days were nothing but a dream now.

"...There has to be another way…" Private Goomp muttered.

Bowser quickly turned his frustrations onto the goomba behind him. "No, Private! There is no other way. Unless some magical bridge suddenly forms in front of us, we're going to have to go…"

The shocked look on Private Goomp's eyes prompted Bowser to turn around. A magical bridge had suddenly formed in front of them; one made out of what looked like copper.

"What the-?"

"Incredible…! Your Amazingness, I thought your magical powers faded a long time ago!" Kammy exclaimed.

"Wait, are you implying that _I_ did that?"

"Yes!" Kammy kneeled down and brushed her hand on the bridge. "This is the very same texture of the statues you made out of the people of Toad Town during your very first invasion!"

Could it really be? He had spent little time practicing his magical powers so he could focus on the functions of monarchy, much to the dismay of Kammy, so he thought he knew exactly why he just couldn't use them anymore that first time he failed to produce what he wanted. Now, however, he was able to conjure an entire bridge just by thinking about it! "Talk, old hag!" Bowser exclaimed. "Why am I suddenly able to do this?"

"I have a hypothesis," Kammy said. "You didn't lose your powers because of inexperience like you keep saying you did, you lost them because you broke Magikoopa Law at some point. When we baited Hazel into turning her weapon away from herself, we obeyed Magikoopa Law, which means that us magikoopas get to keep our magic, and you… your magical powers were reawakened!"

"...Reawakened?" Bowser was reminded of a time long ago, when he could produce blocks and turn others to statues completely at will. He smirked at the thought of finally using that ability on Mario, like he had wanted to just before his powers vanished. "Well, what are we waiting for, then? If I've got new powers, we might as well start using them now!"

So the four of them began travelling across the narrow blessing of a bridge, three of them by foot and another by broom. All the while, images from his storied past floated through Bowser's head. He thought back to that day, before he was confronted by Shade and thrown far away from the castle he had come to love.

That night was the eve of the anniversary of the day Bowser adopted the Koopalings into the royal family. Lots of events in the festivities had been planned for the upcoming holiday, and he had worked himself half to death setting them all up with his kids. As usual, two of the children, Bowser Jr. and Ludwig, were his angels in disguise, with their help ensuring that they would be able to complete the decorations for each Koopaling's own individual party.

He sometimes wondered if they remembered their adoption day as well as he did. One particular day, he had decided that he needed a rightful heir to the throne, in the case he couldn't return from the defeat of one of his many failed plans to win over the princess.

From the moment he had stepped into that orphanage, he'd smelled a hint of double standard all over the place. There were two lists in the lobby of the place - one labeled 'The Good' and the other labeled 'The Bad'.

"Why do you separate kids like this?" he had asked the female koopa - the caretaker, she claimed - standing beside him.

"So each parent that comes here knows exactly what they're getting into when adopting the child," she had replied.

Bowser noticed the staggering difference between the good and bad lists - the good one had three names, while the bad one had a whopping seven. To top it off, each name wasn't even a name - just an insult to their flaws. The names put on the bad list were _Bully, Big Mouth, Kooky, Cheatsy, Kootie Pie, Hip,_ and _Hop_. Bowser knew exactly what to do - slip in there, find the people these nicknames belonged to, and adopt them out of this trash heap of an orphanage, pronto.

"Lord Bowser? Are you coming?" Sergeant Guy said.

Bowser snapped back to reality. His dip into nostalgia had made him forget of the task at hand and stop right in the middle of the bridge.

"I'm fine. Just… keep moving," Bowser said. Sergeant Guy gave him a weird look, shocked by Bowser's strangely soft tone, but then turned around and began to resume the walk, his king following close behind as they came closer and closer to the safer landmass.

* * *

 **The whereabouts of Luigi and Yoshi have finally been revealed to Mario and crew, but the results aren't satisfying. After concluding this barrier in their quest, they must now make their way to the buzzer colony and seek answers to the identity of Ricky. Meanwhile, Bowser and his cohorts are now making their way out of the Darklands, trying to confront Corporal Paraplonk and reclaim more of his army. What secrets does the Jewel of Fate hold? Will Bowser's endeavor end successfully? And just what is Shade up to? Find out in the next chapter: _The Source._**


	7. The Source

**NOTE: This chapter's content is incomplete, and has merely been shared to give authorial closure to this project. Please read the author's note at the bottom of this chapter for more details.**

Mario set a sack of coins, already counted for the price of their stay, on the counter across from the female Monty Mole who ran the inn. She reached out with her brown, stubby arm and grabbed the sack.

"Thanks for the business, honey," She said.

Mario nodded in response and then left the building. He was greeted by the stone-covered lands that he had been hurrying through just last night now basking in the mid-morning sun. Booster Tower still pierced the sky in the distance.

"So that was the tower they were going to..." Ricky said, taking in the view beside him. "That's pretty dang tall."

It hadn't been too much of a chore to dislodge Ricky from the Poltergust. Once they had reached the inn, they had located an ejection button. When it was pressed, Ricky had come flying out. They had shared a nice reunion before deciding to rest for the night. There had been no rush to get to the Jewel of Fate immediately, and everybody was exhausted, so they chose to wait to go to the buzzer colony until the next morning.

Mario turned around to face Mole Mountain itself. At its base, he watched as several monty moles enter the entryway into the mines, pickaxe in hand for the things their claws couldn't dig through. To most of them, this was all that mattered: working through an endless cycle until they found a gem big enough to live off of. Mario felt a small bit of pity for the creatures, but was sure that no amount of talking could get them to deviate from their monotonous life path.

"We're baaack." Mario heard the voice of Kooper fast approaching them, with Goombella and Peach not far behind. In the hands of both Kooper and Peach were two massive piles of coins - they must've totaled to at least 300.

"We found a really good gem in the mines," Goombella explained. "The town store took it off our hands in exchange for a whole lot of money."

Mario got his own coin supply out of his overalls and opened it up. The two of them dumped the money inside.

"Did you handle the inn payment while we were gone?" Peach asked.

"We sure did," Ricky answered. "We're all ready to go."

"Well, if we're all finished here, we should hurry to the colony," Goombella said.

With that, the party of five parted ways with the Mole Mountains and made their way back towards the Forest Maze. As they trudged along, Mario noticed that Kooper had his head buried in his Mailbox SP. Curious, Mario asked him why.

"I've been trying to get in touch with Kolorado ever since we've gotten back to the inn, but I haven't gotten a single reply to any of my messages. I know that it's probably just the lackluster reception that makes this place so out of touch with the rest of the kingdom, but he should've gotten at least one of them by now…"

"You shouldn't worry about that, Kooper," Peach said. "Wario's with them. I'm sure they're absolutely fine. It's the reception, like you said."

"...Yeah, you're probably right, princess." Kooper tucked away his Mailbox SP in a pocket in his shell. "I'm sure he'll get back to me soon."

Just another minute of walking brought them to the border between the quiet lands of plains and stone and the mystical and mythical Forest Maze.

"Is this it?" Ricky asked.

"It is," Peach replied. "We passed by this place quite a few times in an adventure a very long while ago. I haven't seen this place since… but I'd never forget what it looks like. The trees that rise higher than jungles, the strange blue haze that lays over the ground, the hollow stumps I'd see sometimes… I always hoped I could see what was inside one day."

"I've seen cursed islands, places where the sun never seems to rise… heck, I've been to the Moon! But I have never gotten the chance to come here," Goombella said. "I really can't believe it. I bet you've spent tons of time here, Kooper, considering how close you live."

"...To be honest? I've never come here before either," Kooper admitted.

"Wait, really?"

"Yep. Kolorado always forbade me from coming. He said the journey was too dangerous, and I could get lost. He didn't want to lose me."

"So that makes Mario the only person in the group that has entered this forest before…" Ricky pointed out.

Mario explained that, while he had navigated the forest once before, he had heard no such thing of a buzzer colony.

"...Then we have no idea how to get there," Ricky realized.

"Halt!" Two voices exclaimed. Mario and crew turned in surprise to see two buzzers behind them, coated in yellow and black, with stingers pointed straight at them.

"Entry into Bounty is strictly forbidden unless invited by an outside source," the one on the left said. "If I were you, I would turn around and head home."

"What? Why?" Kooper asked, bewildered.

"That information is classified," the one on the right answered.

"Forbidden towns? Classified information?! You realize you are talking to the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, right?" Peach asked.

"The Mushroom what-now?" the one on the left said.

The entire party collectively groaned. "I didn't think they were _this_ isolated…" Ricky whispered to Mario.

"What purpose do you serve Bounty?" The right buzzer asked.

"Bounty? Is that the name of the buzzer colony?" Kooper asked.

"Indeed. Now, answer my question."

"Well, it's a long story, but…" Ricky began. "There's a possibility that I may be the supposed Fated."

Both buzzers dropped their stingers. "Really? For what reason?"

"Well, I lack any memories of who I was before I met Mario here." Ricky pointed at Mario. "I just sort of… appeared one day."

"Curious… the Jewel of Fate also crash landed here in the forest one day," The left one said. "And your color and stature certainly look the part of someone who may be the Fated. It's worth a shot, at the very least. Wouldn't you agree, Bezel?"

The one on the right, Bezel, said, "Perhaps. I don't see any harm in bringing these individuals to Bounty. However, they would have to promise to never disclose any information on Bounty."

"I swear on it, as much as it pains me to," Kooper answered.

"Hmm, another koopa," Bezel remarked. "We've had koopa intruders a few times before. I certainly hope you're not like them."

"Oh, don't you worry," Kooper reassured, knowing fully well who Bezel was talking about. "I'm better than they are."

"I'm fine with keeping quiet about the place, too," Goombella answered.

"You have my word," Peach said.

Mario nodded.

"Excellent. But know this; if we hear even a peep of you speaking about Bounty, we reserve the right to punish you as we see fit."

Mario felt pretty uncomfortable knowing that a single slip of the tongue after this could result in punishment, most likely execution considering the attitude of Bezel.

"As non-members, I must assume that you do not know the way."

"The way…?" Peach asked.

"The path to Bounty, of course. Come, let me show you."

Bezel left the other buzzer to his duty and guided the crew around the woods until they came to a pair of tree stumps.

"The path begins here," Bezel explained.

"Huh? I don't see anything…" Peach said.

"I see it," Goombella said. "It's not a dirt trail: it's a path formed between pairs of stumps! Now THAT'S clever!"

"I didn't even see it…" Kooper remarked. "I'm impressed you were able to, Goombella."

The party of six made their way into the Forest Maze, following the trail between the stumps. Much like Gloomy Woods, Mario once again felt comfort here, and this time it would not be interrupted and be replaced with dead and ruined wildlife.

After a few minutes, the group finally saw Bounty in the distance. However, it wasn't initially clear to them that they had reached its location. They simply saw a dead end and more forest. Eventually, they took notice of the buzzers hurrying around the area and realized that the living quarters of Bounty were, in fact, hollowed trees. The trees marked the edges of a straight dirt path that led to a massive tree that towered over the forest.

"Wow… I've never seen homes quite like these…" Peach said.

"Bounty is a very special place," Bezel said to Peach as the group carried on into the dirt road. "Three years ago, the Jewel of Fate crashed into these woods. At first, I thought nothing of the gem. But, throughout the Summer, the crops farmed nearby became more and more healthy by the day. The Forest Maze had never seen a more bountiful harvest."

"That's why the founders named the town Bounty, isn't it?" Kooper asked. "Because you always have great harvests because you kept the Jewel of Fate?"

"Indeed," Bezel confirmed. "It was my idea, in fact."

"Wait. _You're_ the founder of Bounty?!" Ricky exclaimed.

"I am. It was pure luck that you just so happened to appear while I was checking on our guard."

Finally, they stood before the gigantic tree.

"Well, here we are."

"Is this where the Jewel of Fate is?" Peach asked.

Bezel looked at her as if she had asked a dumbest question in the world. "No, you fool! Why would we place our most treasured object hunted by all nearby colonies in the most obvious location?!"

"Well, sorry for asking!"

"We hide the Jewel elsewhere. We will show it to you in due time. As for now, there is a small inn to your left and a shop to your right."

"Since Mario and I checked out of the inn last time, Goombella and Kooper should check us in to this one," Ricky said. "Peach, Mario, and I will stock up in the shop and get to the Jewel."

"In that case, I will wait here for you," Bezel said as Mario handed Kooper enough money for their rooms. "Welcome to Bounty," he quickly added as the groups separated.

Mario, Peach, and Ricky swiftly made several purchases with their added funds. They purchased four Super Mushrooms and four Life Shrooms, mushrooms that can revive the dead. "Just in case," Peach had said while making the purchase, the memories of the previous night still lingering in their thoughts. Just as fast as they had entered, they left and returned to Bezel.

"Finished already?" Bezel asked.

"We are," Peach answered. "But, before we go, may I ask a question?"

"You may."

"If this giant tree isn't for the Jewel, then what is it for?"

"It is three buildings: the inside of the trunk is our Town Hall, the roots is our jailhouse, and the top of the trunk is our courtroom."

"All of those in the same building?" Ricky remarked.

"Here in Bounty, we value protection and detest crime in any fashion. You're already well aware of our silence laws, preventing talk of Bounty outside the forest, aren't you?"

"Well, you did threaten us with it…" Peach said.

"We have this law in place to protect our kind from criminals who would move in and ruin the quality of life we have established here. What if a fool learned of the Jewel of Fate and tried to steal it so they can sell it for money? We cannot have people who would even think of such an action live here. We represent this by making Town Hall and the court one and the same."

"I see…" was all Peach could say.

"Now, let me take you to the Jewel."

The four walked around Town Hall and made their way to a small, remote tree on the outskirts of town. A total of five buzzers guarded it.

"For what purpose have you come here, Bezel?" One of the buzzers asked.

"I am testing to see if one of these men is the Fated."

"Oh!" The buzzer exclaimed. The buzzers backed away from the tree and murmured to themselves, probably shocked that the Fated may have actually arrived.

"I will admit," Bezel began, "that I do not know what purpose you serve to the Jewel. However, when I first saw this Jewel, I heard a voice talk to me. 'Let the Fated touch this jewel one day, for it is his destiny to take action,' it had said to me. This Jewel gave us its gifts, so I will give the Fated to him in return."

"So that's where the terms for the Fated and the Jewel of Fate came from…" Ricky remarked.

"Yes. It is the only detail that we allow others to speak of: the Fated and the Jewel of Fate."

Mario, Ricky, and Peach began to enter a door embedded into the tree, but Bezel grabbed Peach's arm. "Only I and the Fated are permitted to see the gem," he said.

"I understand," Peach answered. "Good luck in there," she said to Mario and waved as they entered the room.

The trunk was very dark, but impressively thin: there was enough elbow room for Mario, Ricky, and the marble pedestal holding the Jewel of Fate in the center of the tree. The brilliant red crystal jutted out in various directions with sharp points on its ends. It seemed to have a slight glow coming from the center of the gem. It was the only light source in the room, making it very dark.

"After all this time travelling with you, I'm finally going to learn what I'm doing here…" Ricky said. "I'm so tired of being aimless. Let's do this!"

Mario agreed. Making an educated guess on what to do with the gem, both of them reached out and touched a part of the gem. Once they did so, the dark browns of the tree walls turned to black, and the world dissolved around them.

Mario and Ricky now were in a world of complete blackness except for each other. However, that fact quickly began to change. The floor began to illuminate with light blue clusters of stars, as if the universe lied under the transparent surface. Furthermore, a tall creature appeared before the two. He was alien to anything of Mario's world: he looked human, but he was a dark purple. His torso was replaced with blue crystals that covered most of a tail similar to Ricky's but much taller. He bore a set of orange wings and horns. One of the horns was twisted upside down.

It was Culex.

"What the heck is that…?!" Ricky's shaking hand pointed at the beast.

"Fear not, little one," Culex's loud voice boomed. "The Dark Mage that once drove me to fight has been slain. I now serve under the Star Spirits. I've been waiting to see you again, mighty knight that bested me ages ago." He glared at Mario.

"Wait, you know this guy?" Ricky asked Mario.

Mario explained that he had once been challenged by Culex to a battle. It had been a difficult battle, but he and his friends had ultimately won. He also admitted he was shocked to see him again, knowing he came from a very different world.

"I was tasked with waiting for the Fated many years ago, by the Star Spirits… I know little of what goes on in your dimension, so I cannot say I can help you. You will have to wait for the Star Spirits to explain."

"So, this is a gateway to the Star Spirits?"

"Indeed. However, before you speak, you must prove you are the Fated." Four familiar crystals materialized in front of Culex. One was red, the next was blue, the third was yellow, and the last was green. "These crystals represent the four trials the Fated must go through to prove themselves as deserving of such a title."

"I see." Ricky turned to Mario. "I guess that means you have to wait here."

"No. You both will take the trials."

"Really? But we thought I was the Fated…"

"I was told that the phantom coated in red may come with another. Someone said to me that both the phantom and its owner's destinies are intertwined. You, knight, are just as much the Fated as the little one floating beside you."

"If that's the case, I guess we should hybrid," Ricky said. Mario agreed to it, and, for the first time in a long while, the two came together.

"You seem ready to attempt the trials. However, I must warn you. These trials bend and define themselves by what they see inside you. They will try to break you - to ruin you. Are you okay with putting yourself in this position?"

Mario looked back at everything that had been happening. All of the people he failed, all the mistakes he made… this challenge was going to use all of that against him. Would he really be able to do this, with this many burdens on his mind…?

 _I believe you can, Mario!_

Mario jumped. Ricky was talking to him through his mind, somehow.

 _I've seen first-hand the kind of emotional struggles you've been through. I know it must hurt to know you abandoned people you care about… I barely knew them and I still feel bad. But I don't think either of them would want you to suffer just because they're gone. They'd want us to stand our ground, face our problems, and be the hero they'd want you to be. So that's what we'll do, here and now!_

Ricky's reassuring words brought Mario to action. He told Culex he was ready.

"Very well," Culex spoke. "Let us begin." With that, Culex and the stars below them faded into nothing. The only thing that remained was the green crystal.

"The green crystal will be your first trial: the Wind Trial. Wind can be both a gentle breeze and a destructive force. The Fated, like the wind, must know how to contain its side filled with frustrations and release it only when the perfect storm appears. In this trial, no matter what you are shown, you cannot approach the events unfolding in front of you. Doing so results in failure of the trial. Are you ready?"

Mario said he was.

But he wasn't ready for what happened next.

Instantly, he found himself standing in front of a giant wall of a black mass, with a floor resembling the stone of the Darklands below and a sky of green above him. On the floor, Luigi and Yoshi were crawling away from the black wall, being held back by ropes of the same shadowy mist coming out of the wall and grabbing their ankles. They were doing anything in their power to resist the wall, but it was a losing battle.

Mario's heart rate quickened to extreme levels. If he didn't swoop in and help, both of them would be consumed by the wall. He had a hammer. He had a cape. He just had to-

 _Don't do it, Mario!_ Ricky cried. _If you go in there, you'll be consumed too. They wouldn't want you to go down with them. Please, just turn away and run…_

They were so close… but he couldn't do it. He turned around and ran. Ran, and ran, and ran. Tears were swelled in his eyes.

 _It's going to be okay, Mario. It's going to be okay…_

"Congratulations," the voice of Culex boomed as Mario was sent back into the world of nothing. "You have passed the first trial. You were put against a sight you never wished to see, your friends in danger, and was able to accept the reality of the situation. You left them with the intentions to return at the right time - at the perfect storm." As Culex spoke, Mario dried his tears with his gloves.

"Let me present to you the next trial." The yellow crystal appeared in front of Mario. "This is the Earth Trial. The Earth is strong and sturdy. Even in scenarios that are hurtful, it stands its ground, giving everybody on it a home. The Fated must be like the Earth: someone who respects changes made by others, even if it hurts them. In this trial, you cannot become visibly or audibly angry at what occurs. Are you ready?"

Mario reluctantly agreed to it.

"Then let us begin."

Mario suddenly found himself in a familiar castle. In front of him was a bridge over a pool of yellow lava. Bowser stood on one end of this bridge, and he could hear Peach calling for help behind him. Mario rushed towards the bridge, ready to save his maide-

"Stop, cretin!"

From seemingly nowhere, Kooper dropped out of the sky and onto the bridge. He begun to duke it out with Bowser.

Mario was shocked. Kooper had replaced Mario's role? How? Why? He watched Kooper gracefully jump over Bowser. He remembered where Kooper was now. He was a wise, powerful adventurer who made great discoveries. However, in every newspaper he had read that had new discoveries in the Mushroom Kingdom in it, more often than not, it was Kolorado who was credited for the discovery. Mario had seen an expedition of his once. He knew there was no way Kolorado could do half the things he was credited for; he was a phony. Kooper constantly lived in his shadow, always having his thunder stolen by Kolorado.

...Perhaps he didn't just lose his credit. Maybe he gave it away. Maybe he never gave himself the chance to be credited because he wanted Kolorado to be a great inspiration, just like Kooper had thought he was like before he was his apprentice.

Mario watched as Bowser drowned in the lava pool and Kooper held Peach in his arms. Mario decided that, if Peach was able to give Kooper the credit he deserved, then he would be happy for both of them.

Just as the koopa and the princess leaned in for a kiss, the world faded away.

"Impressive," Culex remarked. "Not only did you respect and tolerate their change, you used it to understand your friend better, and in turn became glad they were together. The Earth Trial was yours from the start."

Mario thanked Culex for his kind comments.

"Now, it's time for the Water Trial." Just as the yellow crystal appeared before, the blue crystal faded in. "Water pushes endlessly through rivers and seas, letting itself be guided by Earth and pushed by wind. Like the Fated, water holds no grudges and never stops flowing. In this challenge, you must let your previous judgements against somebody go, in favor of forgiveness. Are you ready?"

Forgiveness? That was no problem to him. For challenges that bend specifically to things he disliked, the Earth and Water trials seem much easier than expected. Considering this was only a test to see if he showed the traits of the Fated, and just about everybody was sure that either he or Ricky is the Fated, that made sense. Mario said he was ready, and the trial began, throwing him into the next illusion.

So, who would he have to forgive? Bowser? Cranky Kong? Wario?

Mario was granted several omnipresent visions. In the first, Luigi and Yoshi were yelling at Bowser, while Mario sat far away from everyone else, his face buried in his hands. That vision dissolved into gray dust and a new one formed. In the next, the four of them were laying on the surface while Corporal Paraplonk paraded around them, teasing each person in the group. The next vision had Mario having a nice-looking conversation with Peach, Kooper, and Goombella, while Luigi, Yoshi, and Bowser were shackled to a wall with chains running off into the sky and the floor. Then he was shown Peach, Kooper, and Goombella fight Tubba Blubba while Mario watched in a corner. Finally, Mr. L and Muncher was surrounding Peach, Kooper, and Goombella, while Mario was a frozen statue far away from the action. Then, the visions looped.

Mario was confused. There were so many people in these visions! How could he figure out which one he was supposed to forgive?

 _Mario_ , Ricky called out for the first time in a while. _I think… I think you're supposed to be forgiving yourself here._

Oh, no. How could he forgive himself? Because of his hesitation and ignorance, Luigi and Yoshi were suffering, and who knows what happened to Bowser. He had put his friends into dangerous situations and then had no way to bail them out of it. Whenever he tried, he always found himself too weak or out of breath. He had been a horrible friend and a pitiful hero.

 _...I don't even know what to say. You're gonna have to find your answer on your own_.

Mario stared at his errors over and over again. It must've been the fifteenth loop when he began to question them. All of this stuff was mostly out of his own control, and he was sure his friends weren't nearly as bothered once these were inevitably fixed. Was he… overreacting? He didn't normally give himself such negative responses to things that go wrong. He took several deep breaths. He needed to keep an open mind, understand that he will make mistakes, and what matters was that he needed to grow from them into a better man. The vision of Mr. L and Muncher faded away, and he was back in his own body in the black space.

"Now you understand," Culex said. "Your heart as of now is far more fragile than before. You blame yourself for events that were out of your control. But the Fated is not made to mourn. He is made to be a leader that gives the battle everything they have, even if losses are involved."

Culex's speech began to make Mario suspicious. His dialect was quite a bit different from how he spoke when they had first met. It felt like Culex was reciting a script. Mario decided not to press it. He was almost done, anyway.

"It's time for the final trial - the Fire Trial." The red crystal stood before him. "Fire can come from many sources, from the natural miracle of the Sun to the rage inside the hearts of man. The Fated represents both sides of fire - it fights with emotion to preserve the lives of others. In this trial, you must fight against something that threatens to destroy everything. You must not lose this fight, or else you will fail the trial. Are you ready?"

Mario prepared himself internally. This would be the most difficult trial yet, but he knew he could win. He said he was ready.

Mario suddenly appeared back in front of the same black wall that he had watched Luigi and Yoshi be dragged into. Instead of green, the sky was now a blood red. Mario readied his hammer for battle. Slowly, six figures emerged from the wall and formed a line. Mr. L and Muncher; Peach, wearing a black dress he recognized from her possession by the Shadow Queen; Bowser with a blue mask over his head that covered his horns but not his eyes; Wario wearing a cowboy hat and a bandana, likely a persona similar to Muncher; and Donkey Kong Jr (normally just called Donkey Kong), who Mario could tell from his eyes that he had lost all semblance of sanity. Mario would have to fight the other Star Children in a ferocious battle.

But Mario knew who his true enemy was. He chose to rush whom he thought was their weakest link, Mr. L. He pulled out his hammer to attack with, but Mario shoved him out of the way. Before the other fake Star Children could do anything else, Mario rushed into the black wall.

" **You imbecile!"**

A voice far louder than even Culex blared into his ears. It rang over the strange noises of what lies within the wall. The sheer combined volume brought Mario to his palms and knees.

" **Did you really come here believing that you could defeat me? That's impossible. I rival gods in sheer might. Who are you? Nothing more than a bug to squash."**

Mario struggled to get back up, but his strength was draining rapidly.

" **I'll use your weak soul for my own purposes. I'll turn you into whatever persona I desire you to take. With you, every Star Child will be a vassal to me, and I can finally achieve my ultimate goal. I can finally destroy-"**

"That's more than enough torturing."

A new voice joined the fray. For a moment, the dark force seemed to hesitate, and let go of Mario. Mario stood up and turned towards the sound of footsteps. Approaching him was a magikoopa garbed in a brilliant white robe and hat.

Ricky unhybrided with Mario, who was still on his knees, reeling from the sheer volume of the previous voice. "Get away from him!" He exclaimed, putting up his fists.

"Stay calm," the magikoopa said. "I mean no harm."

Ricky brought his hands back down. "You're the first person whose ever talked directly to us in these trials… well, aside from whatever thing is in this wall."

"I'm exempt from those rules. Why should I abide to my own trial's laws if I don't need to?"

"...You created the trials?"

"That, and the jewel they came from."

This realization brought Mario to his feet, ready to ask questions.

"Then… then surely you know what I am!" Ricky exclaimed with glee.

"Indeed I do. However, I also know of a more pressing matter that needs my attention. One that will decide your fate in the trial." The magikoopa reached out and grabbed Mario's left hand. He pulled it towards him. "Open your hand, please." Mario did so. As usual, his glove was covered in the mysterious red powder.

"In recent times, you've found yourself on the losing end of physical fights. These strange fluctuations in your strength are not random. The source of your weakness, the origin of your sudden incompetence… it visibly marks you through this powder. Take a closer look, and you will understand."

Mario and Ricky leaned in towards the hand, trying to make sense of the red powder. It was then that Mario took notice of something. It had been difficult to see during their dash through the night, but the color of the powder that had been on his gloves the previous night was much, much brighter than the powder that had appeared during the party.

With the two shades now comparable on his gloves, Mario started to think that this brighter red wasn't a red at all. It looked more like a shade of orange.

Red… and orange…

 _Ricky and Koopsta._

"Holy crap…" Ricky murmured as he turned to look at the white magikoopa, having come to the same realization as Mario.

"Mirage Souls can provide their power to others through hybridizing," the magikoopa began, "but it comes at a cost. The host is weakened by another inhabiting their soul and mind. As more and more Mirage Souls congregate in one body, the strain becomes greater, until, eventually, the host snaps under the pressure, and loses themselves."

"I get it now!" Ricky exclaimed to Mario. "Shade's been putting Mirage Souls in front of us on purpose! He's trying to make you lose your mind!"

"Correct. However, he made one fatal mistake - guessing the Fated incorrectly."

"I know, I know, everybody says I'm the Fated. But what does that even mean? What is my purpose?"

"Ricky, you have powers that go beyond a normal Mirage Soul. You have the power to nullify the weaknesses given, and allow Mario to use them at will with no consequence upon himself. With you here, there is hope."

"That's amazing, but… How do you know my name?"

"I know many things about both of you. Unfortunately, now is not the time for small talk. You still have a trial to complete. There is one more thing I must show you now: the solution." With that, the magikoopa turned to dust. Mario and Ricky suddenly found themselves moving without thinking, as if on a forced autopilot. The Darklands around them came back into view as the black wall ascended and lost its solidity, becoming a massive swarm.

Mario reached into his overalls and pulled out _The Future_. The book felt red-hot, as if it had been set next to a bonfire, but Mario was unable to let go of it. Ricky, still out of control, used psychokinesis on the book, pulling it out of his hands and holding it in front of him. The book began to form a ball of color and energy around itself about the size of Mario's head. Mario held the top and bottom of the ball. Its heat was furious and untamed, ready to shoot out at any moment. Mario held the ball over his head, ready to fire a hole into the swarm.

"Congratulations!"

Suddenly, Mario found himself back in the world of nothing, hammer in hand and Ricky nowhere to be seen. The vision the magikoopa had shown them had ended without a word. Culex was now in front of them

"You've finished all four trials, and have shown every trait expected from the Fated. I will now grant you audience with the Star Spirits. Farewell, knight." Culex faded into the darkness. Slowly, the world around them came back alive. They now stood on a stone pathway upon what looked to be a massive pool of water. At the center of the pool and the end of the path, a coliseum of sorts floated atop the strange location. The stars now hung high above them rather than under them.

Ricky unhybridized with Mario and got a good look at their location. "Where are we…?" He asked. Mario told him they had reached their destination; Star Haven. He began walking towards the coliseum, letting Ricky follow. They soon found themselves within its walls. After climbing one last staircase, they found themselves in front of a pedestal holding a rod with a bright yellow star upon it. In each edge of the room, seven pillars stood, and at the top of each of them, a large star-shaped creature awaited them.

"Welcome, Mario. I must say, I was not expecting to see either of you again, especially not through these means," A yellow one that possessed a beard, who was on the pillar directly in front of them, said.

"Are you the Star Spirits?" Ricky asked.

"Indeed we are," he said. "I am Eldstar. We are the overseers of the wish-granting Star Rod."

"Where are we, exactly?"

"This is Star Haven, our home on the edge of your atmosphere," A different yellow star with a red bow said to them.

"Might you have come from the Jewel of Fate's projections?" A purple star in glasses asked in them.

"Yeah," Ricky replied.

 **Ironic - in my previous author's note, I claimed that chapter 6 "hopefully marked the return of** _ **World in Shade**_ **." That was also the final chapter to be published in its complete form.**

 **For clarity, this is not an attempt at continuing this work. At this time, I have no plans to finish nor rewrite this story. The release of an incomplete The Source is a gift to all of the people who read and enjoyed this work. I felt guilty about simply leaving this project behind with no final word or even putting (CANCELLED) somewhere in the title, so I decided that I could at least release the last work I did for this story, even if it's several years late.**

 **Included in this gift is also a summary of the remainder of the story, since there is little other way for me to share these ideas.**

 **The Star Spirits would explain to them that they saved the Mirage Souls, a group of wandering souls in the void, and gave them a home in Star Haven, but when they weren't looking one day, they vanished. They'd explain that Ricky needs to find the purple and yellow Mirage Souls - the former of which would've possessed Donkey Kong while the latter possessed Corporal Paraplonk. The purple Mirage Soul would grant them the ability to discover the complete origin of the Mirage Souls, while the Yellow Mirage Soul would grant Ricky additional abilities. The three of these Mirage Souls hosting together would restore Mario back to his normal strength.**

 **When Mario and Ricky leave the Jewel of Fate, the guards discover their precious stone shattered later and blame Mario for it. In the next chapter,Turnabout of the Fated, Peach would have to solve the case against him Phoenix Wright-style and would prove that it was our old friend Jester Guy who did it. He would escape capture and hopefully show up again.**

 **The next chapter would've been Origin. They would find the purple Mirage Soul and discover the home of the Mirage Souls. The original plan was that they would've been a group of youths who died in an accident and subsequently ripped from their timeline, a cruel alternate universe where half the population is Mirage Souls based on the Super Mario Strikers games, but if I wrote this today that would absolutely be changed, if nothing else for the sheer length exploring this world in a single chapter would be.**

 **The next chapter would be False Hope, where they would find the green Mirage Soul. My memory of my plans is very hazy around this point, so I'm mostly going off of old documents and what I believe I would've done. The group would return to Toad Town to meet up with the Alliance again only to discover a legion of Duplighosts are posing as them while imprisoning the real deals so they can get the jump on them. The Yoshi Chief from Paper Mario would've been introduced here as Yoshi's father, and I'm pretty sure I never had any ideas for what he'd do besides exist.**

 **After that would be King's Plight, where a messenger from Bowser's army would lead Mario and crew to the fight against Corporal Paraplonk atop Mount Brrr. This would be the chapter where the Alliance and Bowser's Minions would reconvene, as well as the point where Mario would refight Mr. L and Muncher while in the weakest state he has been in all story. Mario would finally achieve full strength again with the communion of the yellow Mirage Soul.**

 **Speaking of Muncher, next chapter would be Behind the Shades, a double meaning which is exactly what you think it is. Muncher would slowly undergo the realization that he is no longer under the direct control of Shade and is slowly undoing his brainwashing while Mr. L is becoming more and more sinister and twisted. Meanwhile, Hazel would finally begin to break through to her brother - not Shade, but her real brother, Grett, who the Mirage Soul Shade is using as a vassal. Hazel reveals to the reader that she has only been working with her brother to save him from his guided path to darkness and depression, to which Grett starts to acknowledge value in agreeing to.**

 **My old plans say the next chapter was going to be War of the Cosmos, where, if I remember correctly, would be when Rosalina gets introduced. She was the carrier of the Jewel of Fate and** _ **The Past**_ **, the enchanted works done by Golau, the white Magikoopa you just saw the introduction to, before Shade invaded the Comet Observatory to cast aside the former and steal the latter. We'd learn that Golau and Shade became deep enemies to each other in the alternate world which carried into an all-out battle in the current one. To stop each other from using their powers to wreak havoc, they agreed to seal themselves away. Both of them utilized loopholes - Golau inhabited his magical works, particularly** _ **The Future**_ **which he put in the TTYD chest...somehow (Golau was probably the worst planned part of World in Shade), while Shade inhabited a living person, the lonely exile Grett.**

 **The plot is very muddy here - at some point they'd find the blue Mirage Soul and there may have even been a pink one. But after that is the chapter titled simply Shade. Mario would fight Mr. L and Muncher one last time in the Darklands, during which Muncher would turn sides and accuse Shade of beginning to ditch Grett because Luigi is the better vessel, which Shade reveals is the truth. Mario and Muncher fight Mr. L together, with both the cape feather and Muncher's jacket being burned in the process. Muncher would reidentify himself as Yoshi and the two would have a tearful reunion.**

 **This would segway directly into the finale, where the whole team would storm Shade's tower. The group would go to the prison once more to save Bowser's kids and free the final grey Mirage Soul, then ascend to the top to confront Grett. There would be a brief fight in which a now only barely controlled Grett would cast away his cloak, revealing his purple robes, and shred** _ **The Past**_ **. Shade would then betray Grett by attacking him using Luigi (by this point the Mr. L persona would basically no longer exist), sending him falling off of the tower. Shade would go full force upon the group, releasing the dark swarm of his energy to capture everybody except Mario, whose control over every Mirage Soul has granted him immunity to Shade's power. To end the fight with the husk of Luigi, Mario and Ricky plan to use the ritual Golau showed them in this chapter - sacrificing the lives of all of the Mirage Souls to destroy Shade in one attack with the power of** _ **The Future**_ **. However, that attack would kill Luigi. The Mirage Souls agree to use their last moments for a very different purpose - to strike at the swarm. Mario's friends are freed, and Shade is shocked to discover that the Mirage Souls' immunity now resides in all of them.**

 **Shade flees to Toad Town for one last fight against the Star Children and their closest friends. The "Star Children united can decide the will of the world" idea comes into play - by all expending their energy together, they could destroy Shade once and for all. After one last fight to free Luigi from his just enough so he can join in the end, they all send their power out, Spirit Bomb-style, to end Shade's reign. The united power of the three Mario Brothers (one related in spirit), Princess Peach alongside the two souls kind enough to rescue her when it's not their job to do so, Bowser alongside his leading allies who persevered by clinging to their strange philosophies, and Wario and Donkey Kong who totally absolutely did something, destroys the swarm. The sacrifice tires all of them - Wario and Donkey Kong stumble, Peach and Bowser collapse but are supported by their non-participant companions, and Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi pile atop each other in a heavy, much-earned rest.**

 **The story would end on a high note with Mario, Peach, and Bowser rebuilding what they've lost both figuratively (Mario and Bowser's friends and family) and literally (Peach and Bowser's homes). It would be revealed that Grett was prepared for the fall and had Hazel save him from death and are now venturing together into their new lives, and, well, they lived happily ever after.**

 **So...there you have it. This was what** _ **World in Shade**_ **could have been. It would've totaled out to around 16 to 20 chapters and, entirely on a guess, a bit over 200,000 words. It's a shame that these concepts couldn't have been turned into executions, where I think they could've shined much better than presented in this summary, but oh well.**

 **Hey, at least it's not all bad. I wanted to use this farewell chapter to tell you all that I'm still writing! One of the main reasons I stopped** _ **World in Shade**_ **was because I wanted to pursue an collaborative project that I personally believe is better than** _ **World in Shade**_ **. It's a work titled** _ **Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Double-Edged.**_ **It's no Mario story and there are too many lights to call it a world in shade, but if you're interested in a more maturely-oriented work, fascinated by a fanfiction that is entirely made up of OCs, a fan of the PMD series, or just interested in seeing what I'm up to, I'd recommend checking it out. We're about to complete the first major segment of the story (which happens to be...six chapters long…) before going into either hiatus or a longer upload schedule, but I think it's a complete enough introductory, and I bet a lot of you guys would be able to handle the wait, considering how long it took for chapter 7 to come out, hahaha. It's inside of this account's favorite stories tab, if you're looking for easy access.**

 **Anyways, with that, this very long-winded author's note is complete. Thank you all for enjoying Mario Story: World in Shade. I hope you take interest in my future projects!**

 **-LukerGamerz**


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